Six Nations: 24-21 Italy Triumph Over Wales
The Welsh rugby team grudgingly accepted its first Six Nations wooden spoon since 2003, following Italy’s well-deserved win in Cardiff, ending 24-21 in favour of the latter. Even the heroics of George North in his swan song game before his departure from international play could not rescue the abysmal performance of Wales. This marks their fifth consecutive loss in this season’s Six Nations and sees them ending the competition at the bottom of the table.
Italy’s victory came off the back of stellar performances by Monty Ioane and Lorenzo Pani, with Paolo Garbisi providing three penalties and a conversion. Martin Page-Relo’s late penalty added to Italy’s score. Meanwhile, late tries by Elliot Dee, Will Rowlands, and Mason Grady, coupled with conversions by Ioan Lloyd and Sam Costelow, fell short of turning the tide for Wales.
Wales’ struggles don’t seem to be ending soon, with seven consecutive Six Nations home losses hanging over their heads, including two successive losses to Italy. Warren Gatland, in his second tenure as head coach, has managed just one victory out of 10 games in the tournament.
For Italy, it has been a welcome break from finishing last, a position they held for the past eight campaigns. In contrast to Wales’ performance, the Italians celebrate their victory, reminiscent of Wales’ triumph five years ago, when they clinched the Six Nations title and Grand Slam victory against Ireland. The Azzurri also celebrated a win against Scotland and a draw against France in Lille.
The journey ahead appears tough for Gatland and his team, with their upcoming match against World Champions, South Africa, in June and a two-Test tour of Australia.
The initial stages of the game saw Wales dominate possession, but any attacks were ineffective. Italy grabbed the lead as Garbisi managed a penalty in the sixth minute. Following sustained pressure from Wales, Italy showed strong defensive capabilities, and Garbisi hit a second penalty when George North was penalised for not releasing the ball. Wales’ promising start spiralled into disarray thereafter due to errors by Nick Tompkins, opening the door for Italy to charge ahead with a superb try.
Garbisi, Menoncello and Ruzza coordinated effectively to develop a potent offensive strategy that allowed Ioane to dart through Wales’ defences and score. Missing the additional points, Garbisi nonetheless left Italy 11 points ahead 20 minutes into the game, increasing the pressure on Wales for the wooden spoon.
Wales’ squad seemed disorientated, exemplified by a defensive blunder between Costelow and Winnett that resulted in a knock-on, gifting Italy an offensive scrum 20 meters from the try line. Even though the Azzurri didn’t manage to leverage this opportunity, Wales’ ongoing uncertainty didn’t dissipate, with Tompkins knocking on one more time when they took up an attacking spot within Italy’s 22.
Wales appeared utterly taken aback by the day’s event, in stark contrast to Italy’s largely cool-headed and confident demeanour. An 11-0 lead at halftime vindicated Italy’s dominance. The first 40 minutes of Wales’ performance echoed their lacklustre start against Scotland in their Six Nations head start, where they conceded a 20-point lead.
The visitors scored once more six minutes into the second half, thanks to Ioane’s impressive contribution and Pani’s sharp finish as he manoeuvred past Welsh wing, Dyer. This brought the Italian lead to 18 after Garbisi’s successful conversion, making Wales’ path to victory increasingly unlikely.
Gatland started making substitutions, and a ray of hope appeared for Wales when Dee managed to score a try, which Costelow successfully converted, 16 minutes before the game ended. However, Garbisi quickly extinguished this spark of hope with a 45-meter penalty kick, followed by Page-Relo’s successful goal from an even larger distance. Wales’ disappointing Six Nations campaign ended on a despondent note, despite late tries from Rowlands and Grady.