Wales cruise past plucky Azzurri
Wales cruised to a comfortable 24-3 victory against a brave but outgunned Italian side who fought hard but were ultimately outclassed in their Six Nations clash in Cardiff on Saturday.
The win sees Wales remain unbeaten in the championship this year and they remain on course for their dream of a Grand Slam whilst the Italians are still yet to register a victory.
Wales dominated both territory and possession throughout the game and it was testamant to the commitment of the Italians that they only trailed 9-3 at half-time after defending manfully for most of the opening forty minutes.
However, Wales’ dominance eventually told in the second half with an impressive long range try from destructive inside centre Jamie Roberts and a late opportunistic five-pointer from right wing Alex Cuthbert put the seal on a solid victory in front of their home crowd.
The Dragons can now look forward to a Grand Slam showdown with World Cup heartbreakers France in a week’s time.
Wales were without Sam Warburton, after their inspirational skipper failed to recover from the Championship-threatening knee injury he suffered against England, with Ospreys youngster Justin Tipuric starting in his place.
But they welcomed back former captain Matthew Rees, who reformed the Dragons’ all-Lions front-row for the first time since November 2010.
Luke Charteris also made his long-awaited international comeback off the replacement bench following the wrist injury he suffered at the World Cup.
Wales’ giant backline made a rampaging start to the encounter with George North breaking three tackles with his first carry and Alex Cuthbert also making major inroads.
Leigh Halfpenny opened the hosts’ account with a long-range penalty on nine minutes after Sergio Parisse was penalised.
But No.8 Toby Faletau knocked on from the kick-off and Wales’ reunited all-Lions front-row were pinned at the ensuing scrum to allow Mirco Bergamasco to level the scores.
Following an intense period of pressure, with Cuthbert running riot out wide, Halfpenny eased Wales back in front.
They continued to dominate affairs and pounded Italy with relentless waves of attacks. But they were let down by errors in the face of the visitors’ committed defence in the final quarter.
Roberts came closest to breaking the deadlock after latching on to a Faletau offload. But the burly centre was hauled down short by Luke McLean and Alberto Scarbi.
Wales settled for Halfpenny’s third penalty after Bergamasco was harshly penalised at the breakdown. Italy responded with a late rally but Wales held strong to enter the interval leading 9-3.
Wales were frustrated by Italy following the restart of play but Roberts struck with a long-range effort to settle the hosts’ nerves.
Alun Wyn Jones pounced on loose ball inside the Welsh half and the ball was spread through Mike Phillips, Halfpenny and Priestland’s hands for Roberts to slice through the Azzurri defence.
Halfpenny slotted the extras to hand Wales a 16-3 lead. They continued to cause Italy problems in attack but were dealt a major blow when the fullback was shown yellow after colliding with Parisse.
Mass substitutions disrupted the flow of the game in the final quarter but Wales hung-on despite their numerical disadvantage.
With Halfpenny in the bin, Priestland stretched the lead further on 69 minutes and Cuthbert rounded off the victory with minutes to spare.
Captain Jenkins took a quick-tap and released Cuthbert, who went outside Fabio Staibano and raced clear before squeezing into the corner.
Man of the match: Welsh inside centre Jamie Roberts looked threatening avery time he touched the ball and bashed his way over the gain line regularly.
Moment of the match: With the contest still tryless in the second half Roberts got the ball deep in Welsh territory out on the left in some space. He straightened well and darted through a gap instead of taking contact before pinning his ears back and racing clear for a great long range try.
Villian of the match: There were none, although Halfpenny was shown a yellow card he was competing for the ball and there was no malicious intent.
The scorers:
For Wales:
Tries: Roberts, Cuthbert
Pens: Halfpenny 3, Priestland
Con: Hlafpenny
For Italy:
Pen: Bergamasco
The teams:
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Michael Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Rhys Webb, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.
Italy: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Luke McLean, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Kris Burton, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Cornelius van Zyl, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements: 16 Tommaso D’Apice, 17 Fabio Staibano, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Robert Barbieri, 20 Tobias Botes, 21 Tommaso Benvenuti, 22 Giulio Toniolatti.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
