Wales v Italy: Five takeaways as Welsh brutality ends ‘bleak times’ while the Azzurri fall back into ‘old habits’
Wales prop Tomas Francis and an inset of Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada.
Following Wales’ 31-17 victory over Italy, ending a 15-Test losing streak in the Six Nations, here are our five takeaways from the clash at the Principality Stadium.
Top line
Wales have finally, finally done it. After 15 consecutive losses, their Six Nations form guide finally features a tick in the win column. Italy flattered the scoreline in the last play of the match, but all in all, it was a methodical, disciplined and emotionally-driven performance from the Welsh to notch up an elusive victory after three years of hurt.
After a bruising start, Wales found a way through the Italian defence and it was via their brilliant number eight Aaron Wainwright who ran a sharp, aggressive line to rampage to score the opening try on 14 minutes. He doubled his tally 10 minutes later as the hosts took charge of the fixture in a manner reminiscent of the Welsh teams that bossed this tournament not too long ago. Dewi Lake made it three on 28 minutes with Dan Edwards adding all the extras to put the hosts 21-0 up at the break.
Edwards continued to rack up the points, rounding off a stunning team try just three minutes into the second half. He added the conversion, and shortly after Alex Mann butchered a try-scoring opportunity, the pivot dissected the posts with a drop-goal from a goal-line drop-out.
That put the Welsh into a 31-0 lead, leaving the Italians needing more than a point a minute, which ultimately proved to be too tall an ask despite tries from Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Tommy Allan and Paolo Garbisi.
15 minutes to remember
It has been bleak, bleak times for Welsh rugby since getting knocked out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but for 15 minutes at the Principality Stadium, the roar from the fans suggested that all the political BS and failings of the WRU were temporarily forgotten and only the rugby mattered.
The first grumbling came as Eddie James thundered into a wall of blue jerseys but the roof shuddered as Cardiff erupted as Aaron Wainwright bounced off the granite shoulders of Giacomo Nicotera before thundering over the tryline and planting the ball into the Principality turf. The tone was set, it took 14 minutes but it was a statement and a loud one at that.
With Cardiff humming, the men in red smelt blood and went hunting, and whilst Wainwright used a shotgun to fire his charges into the lead, he dug the sniper out of the arsenal to sneak over the line for his second, and while he was silent assassin-esque, Cardiff wasn’t.
The hat-trick roar was perhaps the loudest as emotional, inspirational and grossly underrated skipper Dewi Lake took a break from leading from the front, allowing his pack to drive over the line with the hooker credited with the five points. It was euphoric scenes in the Welsh capital as the proud rugby nation finally had an opportunity to see a well-drilled, effective and dominant display akin to the 2010s and could cheer them on.
Dan Edwards followed the accuracy theme, knocking over all three conversions to send the Welsh into a 21-0 half-time lead, something that looked unthinkable against an Italian team that made history against England last week.
That left Italy with a mountain to climb and it was ultimately too tall a task.
Wales emphatically end 15-Test Six Nations losing streak with a bonus-point triumph over Italy
Italy fall to emotionally driven Welsh brutality
15 and no more. That was the decision made by the Welsh ahead of the first blast of Christophe Ridley’s whistle on Super Saturday as Lake and his men went about ensuring that it would not be a hat-trick of winless Six Nations campaigns.
Skill, depth, experience and tactics are all crucial at the highest level but they matter nought if there is no emotional driver and desire to dominate. Rugby is ultimately a collision sport and all the best laid plans come undone when the opposition simply want it more and that’s exactly where the Azzurri fell short and Wales emerged victorious.
Simply, Italy are further along in their squad development, structural and combinational understanding and overall evolution than their opponents, but Tandy has been tasked with turning Wales’ fortunes around and instead of looking for massive gains, has targeted gradual improvements throughout the five Championship matches, and it all came together in the last day.
Under Gonzalo Quesada, the scrum and breakdown have become a real feature of the Azzurri’s game. Well aware of that fact, Wales clearly targeted the latter and turned it into all-out warfare. The likes of Alex Mann, Wainwright, Daffyd Jenkins and James Botham fired into the breakdown with sheer brutality, as the defence shot up with a similar mindset.
With the Principality cheering on the men in red, there was a real ruthlessness in how Wales went about their business today with an emotional drive that Italy, perhaps drained from their historic win last week, could not match.
We’ve seen those kinds of efforts from the Azzurri in recent times like their first-ever win at this venue not so long ago, in their wins over Australia, Scotland and England. But the simple fact was that Wales wanted it more and got it.
There were a litany of examples where Wales showed that fight, where effort mattered more than skill or tactics. Edwards’ try-saving cover tackle in the 66th minute, with his halfback partner, Tomos Williams, repeating the effort two minutes later. Wainwright wasn’t able to stop Garbisi’s late try but he did make another outrageous tackle in the build-up when there would have surely been lead in his legs.
Azzurri slip into old habits
The Italians have improved in leaps and bounds under Quesada, adding a fierce defence to their sensational attack, breakdown efficiency and control to turn a once exciting team that was routinely beaten into one that can not only pose a real challenge to the best of the best, but beat them too.
However, the former Los Pumas pivot still has some work to do in removing the Azzurri’s soft underbelly that was exposed in Cardiff. His charges conceded 10 penalties against the Welsh, 13 turnovers and produced a lineout success rate of just 77 per cent.
While Wales conceded more turnovers (18) and just three fewer penalties, what was Italy’s undoing was the manner in which they made those mistakes. So often they spoiled possession in threatening possessions, letting the hosts off the hook, while compounding errors allowed Tandy’s men to move up field quickly.
Errors-on-errors and penalties-on-penalties are a poison that very few Test teams can afford, if any, and Italy learnt that lesson the hard way again in the last round of the tournament.
Looking ahead
That being said, 2026 remains a campaign that Italy can look back on fondly as they finally got a maiden victory over England, were competitive with the table toppers France and Ireland, and defeated Scotland. They will certainly rue opportunities missed, but will take a lot of confidence heading into the Nations Championship.
Japan will be a tricky task but a match that they will fancy winning before they face the mammoth task of the All Blacks in New Zealand. The attention then turns to repeating the feat of beating the Wallabies, this time in Australia. What will give them even more confidence is that they faced their fair share of adversity this Six Nations with a lengthy injury list but it was simply a case of next man up. Italy are very much a team on the rise, a fact that should not be forgotten during what will be a hugely challenging July.
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As for Wales, Tandy’s rebuild starts to really take shape following this victory. Brick by brick, he has reinforced the foundations of the team. As per tradition, the back-row has been brilliant – even in the absence of Jac Morgan. However, this tournament has given more answers to how the house should be shaped. Edwards stamped his mark with a brilliant display at number 10 but just a few weeks ago, Sam Costelow showed that there is more than one option at fly-half. Tomos Williams is the heartbeat of the side, setting the tempo at scrum-half while the engine room is well looked after with the likes of Rhys Carre and Jenkins.
James is looking more and more comfortable at this level with each passing Test, but who will partner him remains unclear. There are several questions like that which remain, but what is unequivocal is that Wales are at their best when they are direct, disciplined and accurate, three hallmarks this team can be centred around. That will surely be drilled into the squad ahead of their July internationals against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa, all three of which will feast if they don’t tick those boxes.
Today, Tandy’s men gave the Welsh public something to smile about but tough challenges lie ahead.