Injury-hit Welsh have point to prove in Italy

Wales have ended one unwanted sequence with their heartening victory over England – and now they are intent on banishing their away-day blues too, starting against Italy in Rome.

However, Wales suffered an injury setback tonight when flanker Dafydd Jones was ruled out of Saturday’s clash.

Jones, who has a groin strain, failed a late fitness test on an injury that bothered him in the build-up to last weekend’s victory over England in Cardiff.

Llanelli Scarlets forward Jones will be replaced in the starting line-up by Neath-Swansea Ospreys’ Jonathan Thomas, with Cardiff’s Robin Sowden-Taylor taking over from Thomas on the bench.

Former Bath flanker Andy Lloyd has also travelled to Rome with the Welsh squad to provide back-row cover.

The Welsh have not enjoyed a win on the road in the Six Nations since they beat Italy 33-23 in April 2001 – and have since lost seven successive away matches.

With three championship trips in succession this season – Rome, Paris and Edinburgh – they are doubly determined to build on last weekend’s England win.

Wales have an added incentive to beat the Italians on Saturday, having lost in Rome in humiliating circumstances two years ago.

They also know if they can beat the Azzurri it will be their first back-to-back victories at the start of a championship since they won the title in 1994.

“We played all the autumn internationals at home, and obviously our first game of the championship was at the Millennium Stadium,” noted Wales captain Gareth Thomas, who leads his side again on Saturday.

“It’s pretty easy to get up for games when they are played in front of 74,000 screaming fans, so the challenge on Saturday is to go out to Rome and play as well as we do in Cardiff.

“We’ve never had a structure like this before in the championship, where we’ve played three on the bounce away from home.

“It’s a massive challenge for us now. We have proven what we can do in Cardiff, and the next step for us now is proving what we can do on the road - because there is nothing more difficult than going to places like Rome, Paris and Murrayfield.

“They are really intimidating places, which is the exact flip side of what we’ve been used to in Cardiff.”

The key, according to Thomas, will be to stick together and keep concentrating.

“We’ve got to prove we can go away even tighter as a team, even mentally stronger, and produce the kind of performances that we’ve produced at home,” he said.

“We went out there two years ago and lost. We know how tough it is in Rome and how good the Italians are in front of their own fans.”

Wales may be favourites to emerge from the Italian job with a victory. But Thomas sees Italy as a threat, especially after they dominated Ireland for long periods before slipping to a 28-17 defeat last weekend.

“I was really impressed with the first 40 minutes Italy produced,” he said.

“They have a brutal pack, and I think they have progressed as a team over the last couple of years. It’s good for the tournament they have progressed too.

“It’s just great the Italians are being seen as a force, because when they first came into it they were kind of seen as the whipping boys.

“Even before the England game we were under no illusions it would be a tough game in Rome, and the Italy-Ireland game has just reiterated that.”

Having lost in Rome last time, the Wales management are doing all they can to minimise the threat of defeat.

To that end, coach Mike Ruddock will remind his players of last summer’s tour to South America.

“We went to Argentina last summer with a lot of injuries and we battled away at two difficult venues,” Ruddock recalled.

“We just lost the first match but had a brilliant win in the second – and it’s that sort of away win we will talk about as a standard we can achieve away from home.”