Heroic Italy spring late try to embarrass Welsh
UTTER embarrassment for Wales. Joy unconfined for Italy.
What should have been a day to remember for two Welsh greats in Dan Biggar and Alun Wyn Jones turned into the stuff of nightmares. Wayne Pivac’s side should be embarrassed to have produced a display of such abysmal paucity. It was as bad as it gets for those of a Welsh persuasion.
For Italy, this 22-21 win was a first Six Nations victory since 2015 as they finally ended a run of 36 straight championship defeats. They deserved it, too, as they showed two fingers to the critics who believe they have no place among the northern hemisphere elite.
‘It’s simply not good enough,’ said Biggar, his 100th Wales cap ruined by the shock loss. ‘I don’t know where we go. So many facets of the game weren’t good enough. It was so poor. It’s probably the last chance for a lot of players.’
Like Biggar, the great Jones was also celebrating a milestone game with his 150th cap. Both players will want to forget this day and quickly, but it’s unlikely they will be able to.
‘It’s a bitter pill to swallow,’ admitted head coach Pivac. ‘We’re going to get criticism and rightly so. It is very, very disappointing. It was an unacceptable performance.’
Jones became the first player to win 150 caps for a single nation. His match ended in defeat, as did his first, 50th and 100th Wales Tests.
Josh Adams looked like he had saved Wales’ bacon with a 69th minute try in Cardiff, but
Pivac’s side left the door open for Italy all day and they finally smashed it down.
Outstanding Azzurri full-back Ange Capuozzo, still just 22, set off on a searing late run. He went past Taulupe Faletau, Adams and Kieran Hardy and after a moment of brilliance, was calmness personified as he passed inside to Edoardo Padovani, leaving Biggar completely helpless.
Capuozzo’s genius allowed Padovani to score next to the posts. Paolo Garbisi needed a simple conversion to win it. He fell to the floor in tears after kicking the goal. Italy’s players deservedly went wild with delight.
Wales had planned a party on the pitch to celebrate Biggar’s and Jones’ achievements. That was swiftly pulled and instead, against all the odds, it was Italy left to do the dancing. It had, after all, been a long time coming.