Wales emphatically end 15-Test Six Nations losing streak with a bonus-point triumph over Italy
Aaron Wainwright and his team-mates celebrate after he scored his first try against Italy.
Wales finished their Six Nations campaign on a high when they clinched a deserved 31-17 victory over Italy in an entertaining encounter at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.
The result is a significant one for the home side as it is their first win of this year’s Championship and ends a 15-match losing streak in the Six Nations which stretches back to 2023.
Dan Edwards was Wales‘ hero as he led the way with a 16-point haul after he crossed for a try and succeeded with four conversions and a well-taken drop goal.
Aaron Wainwright was not far behind for the hosts as he scored a brace of tries and Dewi Lake also dotted down.
For the Azzurri, Paolo Garbisi added a try and a conversion while Tommaso Di Bartolomeo and Tommaso Allan also crossed the whitewash.
Click here for scorers and stats
Italy had the chance to open the scoring in the 12th minute when they were awarded a routine penalty within goal-kicking range, but Garbisi’s effort was wide of the mark.
Three minutes later, Wales made them pay when Wainwright ran onto a pass from Tomos Williams deep inside Italian territory and burst through a tackle from Giacomo Nicotera before crashing over under the posts for the opening score.
That effort seemed to boost the home side’s morale as they continued to hold the upper hand as the match progressed, and 10 minutes later they extended their lead when the Leicester Tigers-bound back-row dotted down again.
This, after Wales had initially launched a lineout drive from deep inside Italy’s 22 and when the maul was collapsed close to the visitors’ try-line, Wainwright barged over from close quarters shortly afterwards.
The Azzurri seemed shell-shocked by the intensity of the Welsh onslaught, but Steve Tandy’s men continued to dominate as the match progressed and in the 30th minute there was more joy for them when Lake crossed for his five-pointer off the back off a lineout drive.
Wales did not relent as they continued to attack inside Italy’s half during the closing stages of the half but despite finding no further reward, the hosts had their tails up as they held a 21-0 lead at the interval.
If Wales wanted to win this clash, it was important that they built on that commanding lead and four minutes after the restart they secured their try-scoring bonus point when Edwards glided through a gap in Italy’s defence before crossing the whitewash.
That try seemed to knock the wind out of the visitors’ sails and to add insult to injury for Gonzalo Quesada’s troops, Edwards added to their misery when he slotted a 40-metre penalty five minutes later.
Italy needed a response if they wanted something from this clash and that came in the 52nd minute when Di Bartolomeo crossed for their first try after a powerful lineout drive deep inside Wales’ 22 and the hosts were also reduced to 14 men due to an indiscretion from Archie Griffin in the build-up.
That try seemed to revitalise the visitors as they upped the ante on attack and they were rewarded in the 69th minute again when Allan rounded off to add some respectability to the score.
Five minutes later, Monty Ioane dotted down in the left-hand corner, but his effort was ruled out after referee Christophe Ridley checked television replays, which revealed that he had a foot in touch after a brilliant cover tackle from Williams.
Despite that setback, Italy finished stronger, and they were rewarded with their third five-pointer in the game’s dying moments.
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The teams
Wales: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10. Dan Edwards, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 James Botham, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Blair Murray
Italy: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Michele Lamaro (c), 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 David Odiase, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Tommaso Allan
Referee: Christophe Ridley (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (RFU), Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
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