Rugby Union: Wales 24 vs 3 Italy Six Nations Match Report

Wales continued their quest for the Grand Slam whilst Italy were desperate to avoid another wooden spoon in Cardiff on Saturday.Let us know what you thought of the game either in the comments below or on Twitter @Ballintouch Wales had retained as much of the line up from their last match as possible with Justin Tipuric making his first start in the place of the injured Sam Warburton. Italy made a raft of changes after their disappointing loss last time out to Ireland, with Kris Burton taking back the ten shirt from the less than impressive Botes. Italy, clearly incensed by a less than satisfying outing last time were clearly keen to deny Wales any periods of quick ball, setting to at the coalface as is their way. Halfpenny continued his good form in this year€™s Six Nations by opening the scoring with a kick from distance as Wales began well, probing the fringes. A lot has been made of the issues Italy have had at half back and the way they have spurned so many easy points in this tournament through sub-par accuracy. Therefore, the sight of the tireless winger Mirco Bergamasco, who so famously stepped in as kicker and scrum half last year, taking Italy€™s first penalty will have heartened the home fans more than his countrymen. Nonetheless, he slotted what was an easy effort in front of the posts and the Italian defence continued to hold fast. With the score at 3-3 and barely twenty minutes gone, the Millenium Stadium crowd showed their appreciation of Priestland turning down a kickable penalty to punt it into the corner. The forwards rumbled into the waiting defence but could not find the gaps, the move eventually coming back for another penalty. Keen to take advantage of this latest foray into the Italian 22, Halfpenny kicked Wales into the lead. Italy seemed determined to show off how well they could defend, forgetting they were allowed to attack too if they wanted. The stop-start nature of the game kept the crowd subdued, as the occasional half-break was not utilised by the Welsh support as the Italian back row disrupted at seemingly every ruck. Despite Wales having all of the action, there was little to excite the watching masses, Wales proving as equally industrious in attack as Italy were in defence as both sides cancelled themselves out. Eventually a one handed off-load from Faletau created space and Halfpenny looked to be about to arch in for the games opening try before Parisse forced the knock on to prevent the score. Italy continued to deny their hosts as the statistics stacked up, Wales dominating territory and possession. With the half approaching its end, the atmosphere began to tense up as Wales and their fans started to feel a three point lead at half-time was not what they needed. Eventually something had to give and Faletau and Roberts combined to move the action up to the Italian line. Italy infringed, Halfpenny kicked the three and it looked like Wales were starting to get the scoreboard ticking over. But, as always seems to happen these days, Wales conceded a penalty from the restart and it seemed the gap would be reduced back to three. Italy though had other ideas and copied the men in red by kicking for touch and taking the catch and drive line out option, but with no success, being pinged for holding on in the tackle and leaving the score at 9-3 to the Welsh. It was more of the same after the break, before Italy were cruelly counter rucked after a period of actual possession for the first time in what seemed like an age. Wales spread the ball and Jamie Roberts found space inside the flailing Bergamasco to dive over for the opening try, Halfpenny converting. The defence and possibly the will of the Italians seemingly broken, Wales stepped it up, an excellent last ditch tackle around the ankles denying Alex Cuthbert after a massive miss-pass to the winger. With the chant of €˜Wales€™ bouncing off the rafters of the stadium, the crowd sensed that Wales were now starting to gain confidence in their attacking play. As the Italian tackle count passed the 100 mark, Italy seemed to be struggling and it was no surprise tempers flared when Parisse was knocked for six in the air by Halfpenny when chasing a kick. The full back received a yellow card for his efforts, which were more clumsy than malicious. With a one man advantage the onus was now on Italy to do something with the ball, and they enjoyed having the ball in their hands for a brief if blunted period. The Azzuri seemed bereft of ideas beyond €˜kick and lose possession€™. Open side Justin Tipuric continued to impress and demonstrate why he didn€™t make it as a footballer, showing great determination to chase his own kick and pressure Masi, but knocked on and then fell over in the process of trying to kick ahead. The replacements were now streaming on to the field and Tobias Botes showed some much needed urgency from a tap and go, but as is so typical of this Italian side, there was a lack of a clinical edge. With Halfpenny still in the bin, Priestland nudged a penalty through the posts to put the score at 19-3. The result now in the bag, some sharp off-loading by Wales almost gave Ryan Jones a try, but his fellow replacement Rhys Webb had blocked an Italian defender meaning it could not be given. Not to be denied, Alex Cuthbert scored from a mismatch out wide, tired front rowers missing tackles to let the red wave through for an unconverted try that was the last notable action of the day, the full time score 24-3. Wales were now one match away from another Grand Slam, with the visit of France next week standing in their way. The margin of victory was fair, demonstrating Wales€™ dominance over an Italian side that as it stands does not look capable of beating teams. Any points they score seem to be taken from the mistakes of others or sheer luck, the level of their attacking play being more akin to a Championship level side than an international one. No new lessons were learnt for either side. Italy€™s defence was at times phenomenal. But statistics don€™t lie and the Italians made and missed more tackles than even the fittest sides would be able to cope with. Rhys Webb made his debut but it was the first start of Tipuric that caught the eye, the open side seemingly everywhere and proving the loss of Warburton was not the end of the world. Priestland seemed at times nervous and hasn€™t had a particularly great Six Nations after an excellent World Cup. Conversely Halfpenny continued his good run of form, and bar a silly yellow card, had another strong game in the 15 shirt. The front row of Jones, Rees and Jenkins enjoyed the battle with the likes of Lo Cicero and Ghiraldini, while the return of Luke Charteris from the bench will put pressure on the likes of Ian Evans for a starting place next week. It is telling that the Wales dressing room was €˜flat€™ according to coach Warren Gatland, the players seemingly dissatisfied with only winning by 21 points. It hadn€™t been a textbook performance, nor overly thrilling, but it is a win and leaves them within touching distance of the Six Nations trophy. WALES (9) 24 Tries: Roberts, Cuthbert Con: Halfpenny Pens: Halfpenny 3, Priestland ITALY (3) 3 Pen: BergamascoWales: 15-Leigh Halfpenny, 14-Alex Cuthbert, 13-Jonathan Davies, 12-Jamie Roberts, 11-George North, 10-Rhys Priestland, 9-Mike Phillips-; 1-Gethin Jenkins (c) , 2-Matthew Rees, 3-Adam Jones, 4-Alun Wyn Jones, 5-Ian Evans, 6-Dan Lydiate, 7-Justin Tipuric, 8-Toby Faletau 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-Kristopher Burton, 9 - Fabio Semenzato ; 1-Andrea Lo Cicero, 2-Leonardo Ghiraldini, 3-Lorenzo Cittadini, 4-Quintin Geldenhuys, 5-Cornelius van Zyl, 6-Alessandro Zanni, 7-Simone Favaro, 8-Sergio Parisse (c) Replacements: 16-Tommaso D'Apice, 17-Fabio Staibano, 18-Marco Bortolami, 19-Robert Barbieri, 20-Tobias Botes, 21-Tommaso Benvenuti, 22-Giulio Toniolatti