Peter Jackson’s verdict on Wales: So close as Wales dodge a Tyson KO

For a few startling minutes towards the end, Wales ran the risk of falling victim to the biggest upset in Six Nations‘ history. Michele Campagnaro’s second try raised the fleeting spectre of the unsung Italians dumping the champions on their backsides, a scenario on the same preposterous scale as the night when another hopeless outsider, James ‘Buster’ Douglas, dumped Mike Tyson on his backside in Tokyo more than 20 years ago.
Instead of winning with plenty to spare, as they would have expected, Wales found themselves reduced to relying on Leigh Halfpenny’s late penalty as just enough insurance against the scrum-capped Campagnaro rounding off the most improbable of hat-tricks.
That Italy ran Wales close on the scoreboard tells only half the story. That they managed to do so in spite of giving their opponents a seven-point start made their performance all the more commendable.
The strains of Fratelli d’Italia had barely died down than the youngest of the Azzurri became afflicted by a start of such nightmarish proportion that you would think twice about wishing it on your worst enemy.
The verse in the rousing anthem proclaiming that ‘Italy has awoken’ had not, it transpired, reached the new boy on the right wing or perhaps it had in which event he had simply been horribly overcome by an occasion the like of which he would never have experienced.
Whatever the reason, Angelo Esposito had negotiated the first three minutes without mishap when he dropped his monumental clanger, or, to be more accurate, when he allowed Rhys Priestland’s bobbling grubber to go through his hands and under his body.
All Alex Cuthbert had to do was fall on the ball for his tenth Wales try and it is safe to say he will never score an easier one. The start might have become even more calamitous for Esposito a few minutes later.
This time he found George North thundering past him in pursuit of a punt which would have doubled the lead had Leonardo Sarto not scampered all the way across from the far wing to hack the ball into touch a split second before the Welsh giant could apply the finishing touch.
By the time Wales scored a try of their own as opposed to one donated by the opposition, North had survived a scare which, but for sheer luck, would have left him feeling as embarrassed as the hapless Esposito. The Welsh Lion missed a cross-kick and watched in horror as Sergio Parisse picked up to touch down only for the video referee to detect a knock-on.
It took them almost until half-time for the champions to produce a try worthy of their status, thanks initially to the man who announced the day before the match that he had changed his first name, Toby or not to be Faletau.
A classic top-of-the-lineout ball from the soaring No.8 who wishes to be called Taulupe from now on rather than the Anglicised version, gave Jamie Roberts the precious time to spreadeagle the Italian defence with the angle of his run and send Scott Williams round behind the posts.
At 17-8 it ought to have been the cue for a home win by 25 points which happens to be par for the course of this particular fixture. While Wales were never in serious danger of losing, they contrived to lose the second half 12-6 without creating anything more uplifting than two mundane penalties.
So much, then, for Gatland‘s promise that Wales would be bringing something new to a power game which has intimidated Europe while repeatedly falling flat against the Southern Hemisphere.
Instead it was Italy, inspired under the colossal command of their indomitable field marshal, Parisse, who provided something new. How rewarding to see that, at long last, there was far more to their game than dogged defence.
The neutrals longing for the advent of an Italian midfield player to raise the artistic level of the tournament ought to rejoice at Campagnaro, another 20-year-old on his Six Nations debut. He even managed to bamboozle the TMO into failing to detect what looked to me a clear forward pass in launching the first of his tries.
The Treviso centre gave the Italians the guile that Wales lacked, one reason why the home crowd were happy enough in the end to settle for any old win. Sometimes even champions have to be grateful for the small mercy of a winning start which is more than they managed in three of the last four championships.
When they dissect the video, the Welsh management will also count their blessings that Italy’s new fly-half, Tommaso Allan, ‘Tommy’ during his time with Scotland, failed with two of his four shots at goal.
It will take something better than this if Wales are to see Ireland off in Dublin next Saturday. Whether a truncated comeback for the Scarlets yesterday is deemed enough to rush Jonathan Davies back into midfield remains to be seen and there are also selection issues on either side of the scrum.
The triple Six Nations title dream lives on, even if nobody ever imagined it would start like this. Wales, at least, had enough about them to keep their heads and avoid the ‘Buster’ Douglas moment…