Key occasions
HALF TIME! Wales 21 – 0 Italy
40+1 minutes. Italy navigate a difficult 5m defensive scrum for Garbisi to chip out of play to finish the half.
39 minutes. There’s no catch-maul-try chain of occasions from Wales this time, and the ball results in midfield. Wales are on the 5m line beneath the posts, however the ball is nudged ahead involved.
38 minutes. Pani runs arduous into midfield and immediately into Olympic sprinting’s personal Rhys Carre, who not solely stops him however then stoops over to clamp on the ball and win a penalty.
Edwards places it within the nook.
37 minutes. A scrum takes some time to finish; at one level trying like a Wales penalty however Ref Ridley concludes either side have been popping up on the identical time.
When it lastly completes James spills the ball involved on an enormous crash ball angled run.
33 minutes. Wales strive a number of phases on the midway line earlier than Williams kicks one in the direction of the nook that Fusco covers and marks within the 22.
31 minutes. Italy are in all types of hassle right here. Wales are assured and have the higher hand within the set piece which has introduced three tries, whereas the Italians seem to have misplaced the ref totally as he’s seeing infringements from them all over the place. The newest penalty given away by a blue shirt is at a ruck within the Wales half.
TRY! Wales 21 – 0 Italy (Dewi Lake)
29 minutes. The Welsh pack have the Italians on toast to this point through the lineout maul and so it proves once more after Edwards places it within the nook. The ball goes to the tail and Lake does the honours from the again of the rumbling maul.
Edwards converts.
28 minutes. Wales win the ball again on the restart and spring up the correct of the sector, James chasing and gathering a grubber kick within the Italian 22. They transfer the ball left the place there’s a large overlap, however the passes will not be good and this permits the defence to scramble and engulf Adams. The ball comes again to the opposite aspect of the pitch the place Ioane is penalised for a ruck infringement.
TRY! Wales 14 – 0 Italy (Aaron Wainwright)
26 minutes. The dwelling aspect take the choice of a 5m lineout through Edwards’s boot. Lake throws a low lineout to Carter for the maul to assemble and hammer ahead rapidly over the road for Wainwright to seize his second of the match!
Edwards converts
24 minutes. Wales win a scrum penalty and ship it to the touch close to the Italy 22. Hawkins has a run from the lineout however is rattled to a halt and pushed backwards, which seems to be to have impression for Italy earlier than Zuliani handles the ball within the ruck in his eagerness to rub Hawkins nostril in it.
22 minutes. The sport spends a couple of minutes within the center third with all sides in possession for a bit. Garbisi decides he’s had sufficient of this and sends a kick excessive for Lynagh to chase, which he reaches first however drops ahead.
19 minutes. Clean win from the Italian lineout is sort of maximised when Fusco dummies and races in the direction of the road. He pumps his legs however doesn’t have sufficient to interrupt the Welsh tacklers and because the ball strikes left the passing is imprecise, sends the ball to the grass and Mee toe-punts it away.
17 minutes. That strive has Wales’s tails up barely as their runners have elevated their depth slightly in a number of phases from the restart. However, this involves a halt when Brex reads a go behind the road and sprints onto Mann, isolates him, and wins a penalty when the back-rower holds onto the ball.
TRY! Wales 7 – 0 Italy (Aaron Wainwright)
15 minutes. A good lineout lastly for Wales, this time on the Italy 22. Mee is outstanding once more as he takes a keep on the arc from his wing into the center of the Italian defence earlier than the ball is recycled to Wainwright on a superb line from deep to drive over.
Edwards converts
13 minutes. Mee calmly finds Rees-Zammit with a go within the 22 for the fullback to cream an enormous kick that places Fusco beneath strain. Mee follows up after which wins a penalty for Fusco not releasing the ball within the sort out. An glorious couple of minutes for the younger winger.
MISSED PENALTY! Wales 0 – 0 Italy (Paolo Garbisi)
12 minutes. The Welsh lineout is sort of a drunk monkey conference on the minute, and the most recent one is misplaced through one other knock-on that Mann then pounces on from an offside place.
Garbisi tees it up however strikes it horrifically.
10 minutes. The ball runs unfastened from a crimson hand and it falls to the worst particular person attainable from a Wales perspective: Menoncello. He races sixty metres up the left aspect of the pitch and flings a go to Ioane earlier than the scrambling defence does sufficient to haul him down. Italy spay it to the correct, however the breakdown is frenetic and offers possession again to Wales through a penalty.
8 minutes. Wales run to to the correct from a scrum in teh center of the sector. Edward strikes in the direction of the road, but it surely’s very lateral and he takes the choice to chip excessive that’s too deep and Garbisi simply marks it within the 22. A waste of an attacking place.
6 minutes. The first lineout for Wales is overthrown to Mann on the tail and misplaced ahead to Italian palms. The guests do nothing with it aside from kick to the touch to provide Wales one other go round midway, which they kick excessive from and take by Lynagh is ruined by Fischetti spilling the ball on the subsequent part.
4 minutes. Some phases from Wales within the Italian half are constructing some momentum, however the Azzuri defence may be very cute in not placing many within the ruck, as an alternative marshalling themselves throughout the sector to comprise the runners. Eventually, James is held up within the sort out and when the ball deosn’t emerge Italy have a properly received scrum.
2 minutes. Ruzza juggles with the primary lineout after Wales clear the kick off, however the Italian forwards do sufficient to retain possession. At least till two phases later when it’s nicked on the ruck for Edwards to clear.
Kick Off!
Garbisi boots us underway
Officials at present:
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
“Watching from Minneapolis and refusing to let hope anywhere near me.” writes El Rose. She may very well be commenting on Wales’s probabilities or the present US political panorama.
The roof is closed, the lights are down, and the fireworks are popping because the groups emerge from the tunnel. Kick off quickly.
“Currently on a plane heading to Mexico.” Stephen Halliday informs us. “Have just finished following along the Ireland – Scotland match and am knackered! Hoping for more of the same from this game!!”
“I’m following your commentary from Canada.” says Roger Moore, “Went to the stadium in Cardiff with my dad and my grandad. I still think of it as the Cardiff Arms Park. Many memories of the good old golden days. Hoping for another good day today. Cymru am Byth!”
Pre-match studying
Get in contact with me previous to and all through the match on the email. It’s more likely to be an eventful day as Super Saturday unfolds, so preserve me up to date in your throughts.
Teams
Wales
Louis Rees‑Zammit; Ellis Mee, Eddie James, Joe Hawkins, Josh Adams; Dan Edwards, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carré, Dewi Lake (c), Tomas Francis; Dafydd Jenkins, Ben Carter; Alex Mann, James Botham, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Nicky Smith, Archie Griffin, Adam Beard, Ollie Cracknell, Kieran Hardy, Jarrod Evans, Blair Murray.
Italy
Lorenzo Pani; Louis Lynagh, Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Alessandro Fusco; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Muhamed Hasa; Niccolò Cannone, Federico Ruzza; Michele Lamaro (c), Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Mirco Spagnolo, Giosuè Zilocchi, Riccardo Favretto, Davide Odiase, Stephen Varney, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Allan
Preamble
There’s a well-known Italian phrase La Dolce Vita, which I imagine interprets on to “we beat England, have some of that!”. This is the power Gonzalo Quesada’s males convey to Cardiff at present as they search their first ever three-win Six Nations match. Their last place within the desk is to be decided by outcomes elsewhere at present, however as a manner marker for his or her improvement that is of lesser import than the quantity within the W column.
Wales even have their very own language after all, and whether or not they converse it or not all followers of Cymru could have the sensation of digon nawr – “enough now”. Enough of governance and administrative clustershambles, sufficient non sell-out matches, sufficient rationalisation of poor performances, sufficient dropping. For all Italy’s tangible enchancment, this was all the time the match that offered the house aspect with the perfect likelihood of avoiding the wood spoon and they are going to be pouring every part into this.
Will it’s sufficient? The type suggests not and added to this the Azzuri have their very own motivation to encourage them. Can Wales summon their current vastly improved outings and add the additional required to beat this? All can be revealed within the subsequent few hours.
