All the Italian fans with Six Nations tickets were on the edge of their seats as their team brought in a long-awaited victory in the Six Nations, defeating Wales to go one up.
The Azzurri comfortably won the game 24-21 against Wales, completing one of their most impressive xi Nations campaigns.
The team avoided defeat in three back-to-back matches for the first time and went on to earn a record number of competition points. The next few matches will determine whether they will equal their best-ever campaign in the Six Nations in 2007.
This has been a great accomplishment for Italy. The team came inches close to winning against France but then had to settle for a 13-13 draw. The draw followed a much-deserved win against Scotland, giving them two wins and a draw in this campaign.
“We’ve been through lots of difficult moments, and now we can celebrate the good ones,” added captain Michele Lamaro before his team went on a deserved lap of honor.
Italy received the wooden spoon in the previous eight years and passed it to Wales for the first time in 21 years after the Welsh lost all five games in the championship.
For Wales, it is a wake-up call. Coach Warren Gatland was critical of the performance and even insisted on resigning. The Wales fans with Six Nations tickets have seen their team go from the extremes of applauds to the rock bottom of misery.
“I just told Abi (Tierney, the Welsh Rugby Union CEO), ‘If you want me to resign, I’ll do that.’ She said, ‘Like hell.'”
Perhaps a fear of the spoon was why Wales seemed anxious, especially in the first half. A swag of basic errors made Wales easier to handle for a highly confident Italy with a superior scrum and panic-free defense.
Wales trailed throughout the game, and Italy was the clear team on top. It was only when Italy led 18-0 that Wales fought back with a converted try.
But Italy extended their tally to 24.
The humbling was compounded by the sad sight in the dying moments of George North needing help to limp off with a suspected right Achilles strain in his 124th and last test match.
This was North’s swansong to a tremendous 14-year test career.
George North has been a great ambassador for the game for Wales, and it was a disappointing end to such a great career.
Despite Wales’ losing streak, the bookmakers hosted a nine-point favorite in front of over 10,000 empty seats in Principality Stadium. But Italy’s form, power, and defense controlled the match from the start, leaving no space for the Welsh supporters to Six Nations tickets to cheer.
“We have had a good tournament, but know we can do better than this,” Lamaro said. “The mindset of what we take into the pitch is something we’ve never had before. We’re confident. We still have to be more consistent in what we’re doing and compete with every team in the tournament.”
Perfect jackals by Danilo Fischetti and Lamaro gave Paolo Garbisi two early penalties. This was followed by a brilliant set-piece move by the backs: Garbisi, Tommaso Menoncello, and Monty Ioane opened up Wales, and Ioane ended up scoring untouched.
The scores read 11-0 at halftime, and the side continued to rack up points. An Adam Beard neck roll on Italy counterpart Federico Ruzza stopped a Wales charge.
The replacement center, Mason Grady, boosted the morale of Wales as they started accumulating points to cut the deficit.
Penalties by Garbisi and Martin Page-Relo sent Italy 24-7 up, but with victory certain under the roof, they relaxed, and Wales grabbed late tries by Will Rowlands and Grady, both converted by Ioan Lloyd.
But this wasn’t enough to stop Wales from losing and adding to their miserable record of 12 losses in the last 13 games.
“This rebuild isn’t harder than we thought,” Gatland said. “We knew the inexperience we had in the squad and the players we asked to step up to leadership roles. For us, it’s about taking the good out of the games and showing what we need to do. I can’t question the efforts of the boys.”
Ireland Back to back Six Nations Winners
In the meantime, Ireland became the first side to win back-to-back Six Nations titles when they defeated Scotland.
On a nervy evening, Dan Sheehan’s try on either side of two Finn Russell penalties gave Ireland a one-point lead at the end of a cagey first half.
Scotland defended bravely after the break as Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw both had Irish tries ruled out.
Andrew Porter crossed to provide Ireland with clear daylight before Huw Jones gave Scotland late hope.
Ireland, however, steadied themselves in the closing moments to defend their crown in a remarkably tense campaign finale.
This was Ireland’s 10th successive win over Scotland, and while not entirely as one-sided as their 36-14 victory in last year’s World Cup, they again proved too much for Townsend’s side.
Despite the ultimate goal of another Slam, the Irish team is in good spirits to head to South Africa to play the World Champions, along with an Autumn program that includes a match against the All Blacks.
The fans who have Six Nations tickets will now focus on another important game that will take place later in the year – the Ireland vs All Blacks clash on their tour to New Zealand.
The last time they toured, Ireland made history, and they will be looking for sweet revenge this time around.
The concluded Six Nations will be Andy Farrell’s last Six Nations until 2026, when the Englishman will take over the reigns as coach of the British and Irish Lions in Australia.
Final Points Table:
P (Played), W (Won), L (Lost)
- Ireland – Played 5 Won 4, Lost 1, – 20 pts
- France – Played 5 Won 3 Lost 1 – 15 pts
- England – Played 5 Won 3 Lost 2 – 14 pts
- Scotland – Played 5 Won 2 Lost 3 – 12 pts
- Italy – Played 5 Won 2 Lost 2 – 11 pts
- Wales – Played 5 Won 0 Lost 5 – 4 pts
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