Italy v Wales Match Reports
Wales recovered from a half-time deficit to beat Italy 33-7 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Italy were 7-3 up at the break thanks to a converted try from scrum half Edoardo Gori. Wales started gathering points early in the second half through Leigh Halfpenny's boot. Then, with Andrea Lovotti sent to the sin-bin on the hour mark, Wales took full advantage and scored two converted tries to build a commanding lead. George North added a third try in the 78th minute as Wales went searching for a bonus point, but they couldn't quite manage a fourth try. A selection of match reports is listed below:
- BBC: Wales beat Italy but miss out on bonus point
- Guardian: Halfpenny impresses as Wales start Six Nations campaign with win over Italy
- Independent: Wales produce much-improved performance to power past Italy but bonus point goes begging
- Telegraph: Second-half recovery sees unconvincing Welsh begin Six Nations campaign with win
- Daily Mail: Visitors score 30 unanswered points to win in Rome thanks to tries from Jonathan Davies, Liam Williams and George North
- Sky Sports: Welsh rally for Six Nations win in Rome
- ESPN: Wales' second-half showing secures win over Italy in Rome
- Wales Online: Rob Howley's side take control after stuttering first half display
- RBS 6 Nations: Halfpenny guides Wales to victory in Rome
- WRU: Wales second half blitz sinks Italy
Italy v Wales - Match Highlights
Italy v Wales - Match Stats
Italy: (7) 7
Try: Gori (29')
Conversion: Canna (30')
Wales: (3) 33
Try: J Davies (61'), L Williams (67'), North (78')
Conversion: Halfpenny (62', 69', 79')
Penalty: Halfpenny (36', 46', 53', 56')
Man of The Match: Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
Italy v Wales - Team Line-ups
Italy Team Line-up
Forwards
- 1 Andrea Lovotti
- 2 Ornel Gega
- 3 Lorenzo Cittadini
- 4 Marco Fuser
- 5 George Biagi
- 6 Abraham Steyn
- 7 Maxime Mata Mbanda'
- 8 Sergio Parisse (CAPTAIN)
Backs
- 9 Edoardo Gori
- 10 Carlo Canna
- 11 Giovanbattista Venditti
- 12 Luke Mclean
- 13 Tommaso Benvenuti
- 14 Giulio Bisegni
- 15 Edoardo Padovani
Replacements
- 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini
- 17 Sami Panico
- 18 Pietro Ceccarelli
- 19 Joshua Furno
- 20 Francesco Minto
- 21 Giorgio Bronzini
- 22 Tommaso Allan
- 23 Michele Campagnaro
Wales Team Line-up
Forwards
- 1 Nicky Smith
- 2 Ken Owens
- 3 Samson Lee
- 4 Jake Ball
- 5 Alun Wyn Jones (CAPTAIN)
- 6 Sam Warburton
- 7 Justin Tipuric
- 8 Ross Moriarty
Backs
- 9 Rhys Webb
- 10 Dan Biggar
- 11 Liam Williams
- 12 Scott Williams
- 13 Jonathan Davies
- 14 George North
- 15 Leigh Halfpenny
Replacements
- 16 Scott Baldwin
- 17 Rob Evans
- 18 Tomas Francis
- 19 Cory Hill
- 20 James King
- 21 Gareth Davies
- 22 Sam Davies
- 23 Jamie Roberts