Cunningham: Wales can avoid another whitewash
IOAN Cunningham believes Wales can finish their Six Nations campaign on a high when they face Italy on Saturday.
Wales go into the clash looking to avoid a whitewash, having already lost against Scotland, England, Ireland and France,
The 40-0 reverse against the French was Wales’ seventh defeat in a row. The visitors ran in six tries at Cardiff Arms Park and will face England in a Grand Slam decider on Saturday in Bordeaux.
Cunningham’s side know they must beat Italy at the Principality Stadium if they are to avoid matching the men’s team and picking up the Wooden Spoon.
It is a far cry from last year when Wales showed signs of huge progress to finish third in the table.
But the head coach remains confident Wales can deliver.
“If the effort is there and the next action is there we’ve got something to build on,” said Cunningham.
“I thought that was there today in abundance.
“We fought for every inch, we went through some good attacking sets, just that clinical edge that we are still searching for.
“But I am confident if we can produce some plays like that against Italy next week, we can finish this championship on a high.”
Despite the run of defeats, Cunningham believes Wales are still making progress on the world stage and have made great strides since becoming fully professional.
“This team was 13th in the world, they hadn’t won a game in two-anda-half years,” he added.
“We’ve still got L-plates on when it comes to professionalism.
“People have got to understand that.”