Wales scored 30 unanswered second-half points to down a spirited Italy 33-7 in Rome on Sunday. JON CARDINELLI reports.
For 35 minutes, Italy were in control. They dominated the collisions, particularly on defence. They kept the ball close on attack and scored via a maul in the 29th minute.
Wales struck back through the boot of Leigh Halfpenny in the period before half-time. That penalty allowed Wales to register their first points of the game, and marked the beginning of their comeback.
Italy battled to maintain their physical effort in the second half. They conceded several penalties, and Halfpenny made them pay on the scoreboard. After 55 minutes, Wales were out to a 12-7 lead.
The momentum was with the visitors and when they won a subsequent penalty they decided to push for a try. Italy impeded at the scrum, and Andrea Lovotti was shown a yellow card. In the 61st minute, Jonathan Davies crossed the line for a crucial try.
Halfpenny added the extras, and also managed to convert Liam Willams' try which was scored close to the touchline. With that latter kick, Wales stretched their lead to 19 points and secured the result.
The visitors had the opportunity to record the first bonus-point try in Six Nations history in the dying minutes. George North finished brilliantly to score Wales' third, and Williams so nearly added a fourth when he forced a turnover and reached for the tryline. On this occasion, however, the Azzuri defence managed to knock the ball loose, and the game came to an end.
However, the result as well as the margin of victory will ensure that Wales finish round one at the top of the Six Nations log.
Italy – Try: Edoardo Gori. Conversion: Carlo Canna.
Wales – Tries: Jonathan Davies, Liam Williams, George North. Conversions: Leigh Halfpenny (3). Penalties: Halfpenny (4).
Italy – 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Giulio Bisegni, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti; 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Maxime Mata M'Banda, 6 Abraham Steyn, 5 George Biagi, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Subs: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Sami Panico, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Joshua Furno, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Giorgio Bronzini, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Michele Campagnaro.
Wales – 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith.
Subs: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Cory Hill, 20 James King, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jamie Roberts.
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
