Wales make hard work of it against Italy

Italy 15 Wales 20

Wales almost saw their hopes of a successful RBS 6 Nations title defence reduced to ruins at Stadio Flaminio today.

Substitute Tom Shanklin's 72nd-minute try staved off a colossal upset, denying an Italian side that had conceded 100 points in losing successive games against England, Ireland and Scotland.

Wales boss Warren Gatland's gamble of making nine changes from the side beaten by France in Paris a fortnight ago almost backfired spectacularly.

Super-sub Shanklin got them out of jail, with his score following a first-half touchdown by wing Shane Williams, while fly-half James Hook kicked 10 points.

Wales though, will need to record an emphatic victory over Grand Slam-chasing Ireland in Cardiff next Saturday - possibly by 20 points - to retain Six Nations silverware.

Italy, who went toe-to-toe courtesy of a wonderfully-committed effort by their pack and five penalties from full-back Andrea Marcato, arguably deserved at least a share of the spoils.

Wales, captained for the first time by lock Alun-Wyn Jones, had expected a fierce onslaught during the opening 20 minutes, and while that duly materialised, Italy then refused to follow the script by wilting.

Williams' 46th Test match try saw him equal Gareth Thomas' Welsh record of eight against Italy, while he is now only one behind Gareth Edwards' Welsh-best of 18 in Five or Six Nations rugby.

But Welsh highlights proved few and far between during a performance that was comfortably Wales' worst in the Six Nations since Gatland took charge 15 months ago.

Italy made a promising start, testing Wales' defence through a slick move involving skipper Sergio Parisse and the Bergamasco brothers Mauro and Mirco.

It served notice that the home side had no intention of simply rolling over, and they took a deserved sixth-minute lead through Marcato's opening penalty.

Marcato's strike came after referee Alan Lewis penalised the Wales front row, which was a totally changed unit from the one on duty in Paris two weeks ago.

The visitors had expected an early Azzurri onslaught, and so it proved, with Marcato sacrificing a kickable penalty for territory in the corner when Wales lock Luke Charteris was punished for killing possession.

And Italy closed out an impressive opening quarter by launching another attack when Mirco Bergamasco chased a kick that Wales full-back Lee Byrne ultimately smothered.

Wales should have drawn level in the 21st minute, but Hook missed a penalty from in front of the posts that confirmed an error-strewn team performance.

The visitors had to start making their presence felt, yet they struggled for fluency, forcing passes and misdirecting kicks that merely played into Italian hands.

Gatland would have been infuriated by what unfolded in front of him, but his team gave him cause for optimism 13 minutes before the break.

A belated spell of Wales pressure produced its reward when centre Gavin Henson cleverly switched attacking direction and Williams scored a simple overlap try.

Hook atoned for his earlier error by slotting the extras, giving Wales a 7-3 lead, but the visitors still had plenty of work to do.

And there were further problems for the Wales front-row, as they conceded a second penalty that Marcato kicked, cutting the deficit to one point.

Marcato completed his hat-trick five minutes before the break after captain Jones took out Italy scrum-half Paul Griffen off the ball, and Wales were back to square one.

And they had a lucky escape on the stroke of half-time, when wing Mark Jones just managed to ground possession behind his own line under pressure from Italy flanker Alessandro Zanni.

It meant Italy ended the opening 40 minutes with an attacking scrum, and only more impressive defensive resilience by the heavily-worked Jones kept them out.

Wales were patternless - and often clueless - lacking the collective nous to tighten up their game.

As a frantic third quarter edged towards its close, so the Italian forwards stepped up a gear after substitute prop Martin Castrogiovanni's arrival and Marcato booted his fourth penalty for a 12-7 advantage.

Gatland then began to use his bench, sending on three reinforcements up-front in prop Gethin Jenkins, hooker Matthew Rees and back-row ace Ryan Jones, before a Hook penalty narrowed the deficit again to two points.

An angled Hook penalty after 65 minutes inched Wales ahead, but the game remained poised on a knife-edge, with Marcato landing a fifth penalty.

Byrne was then replaced by Shanklin, yet Shanklin's first contribution was to concede a penalty 35 metres out, and Marcato made it five kicks out of five before Shanklin touched down to prevent the Six Nations form guide from being shredded.