View from next door: Italy

For too long on Super Saturday it has felt as if Cymru were the joke show. Involved in dead rubbers, part of games that were entirely forgettable and, if anything, detracted from the momentum of what should be three huge test matches on the final day of the Guinness Six Nations.

That all changed on the weekend though as, after Ireland and Scotland had served up a cracker to get the day going, Cymru’s performance against Italy was a real statement moment for the tournament, proving that on their day any team in the competition was capable of beating anyone else.

The Italians have got to take huge credit for that. Their improvement over the last five-to-six years has been remarkable, from perennial whipping boys to pushing for a top half finish thanks to targeted investment in the development pathway and some smart coaching and leadership appointments producing a fine group of players.

In their place fell the Welshmen for a few years, a product of exactly the opposite approach when it comes to lacking investment in the development pathway overseen by some poor coaching and leadership, but after this Six Nations it seems that things are finally on the turn.

It should be said that Saturday does not necessarily prove that Cymru are “back” per se. The Italy side that came to Cardiff were clearly struggling to back up the emotional high of beating England for the first time in the tournament the previous weekend, and one win means nothing if the rest of the year does not produce continually improving performances and results.

However, that shouldn’t mean that Welsh fans can’t be pleased with the positives on display, both in the performance at the Principality Stadium and with the progress shown over the last two months as a whole.

What we saw on the weekend was a Cymru side that is packed full with fast settling combinations and on the whole comfortable with the new identity they’re forming. Defensively it was organised and physical with nine dominant tackles restricting the visitors to some aimless kicking for the first hour until they threw caution to the wind with the game gone.

The scrum was once again solid for the majority of proceedings and the tactical kicking and aerial game was at least on a par with Italy to maintain equality in the territory battle, but it was in attack where the biggest improvement came for the men in red.

Four line breaks, four tries, edging the possession and post-contact metres battle, they’re not necessarily outstanding statistics in the usual sense, but from where Cymru have been it was a marked improvement. There were signs of the attack evolving from existing purely to hold on to possession and giving the defence to rest, to actually looking to strike consistently.

Of course a lot of that comes from the coaching staff, and there’ll be time to review how they’ve masterminded the progression when looking back on the tournament in its entirety, but the players of course deserve huge credit for how they’ve worked to build the balance that the team is now able to work around.

The pack has taken the strong spine of Dewi Lake, Dafydd Jenkins and Aaron Wainwright, and been taken to the next level by the additions of Rhys Carre and Ben Carter to the tight five, the partnership of Alex Mann and James Botham on the flanks, and particularly the return of Tomas Francis from international exile to act as the cornerstone.

In the backs there was the best combined performances from Tomos Williams, Dan Edwards and Joe Hawkins as a 9/10/12 trio, while the back three of Josh Adams, Ellis Mee and Louis Rees-Zammit were the most connected they have been, and Eddie James’ ceiling seems to grow by the week as he settles into the Welsh midfield.

Perhaps the most exciting thing that came out from Saturday for Steve Tandy though was that Cymru had a lot of areas where they could still improve.

The lineout malfunctioned particularly badly early on, and was still shaky through the latter stages, depriving the attack of a stable platform, and that attack itself still looked a bit clunky at times with individuals still growing into Matt Sherratt’s preferred attacking shape and game plan. Similarly, some question marks still remain about the wide defence when stretched.

Perhaps the biggest room for improvement comes in transition though, where Cymru enjoyed a number of good turnover ball or broken field attacking opportunities and either ineffectively shovelled the ball down the line to kill the space or kicked it away when a large overlap should have been exploited.

All-in-all though a much deserved win for the Welshmen to cap off a Six Nations that spanned the incredible low of that opening round defeat at the hands of England away at Twickenham, the steady improvement of Scotland and Ireland, and then the jubilation of victory in front of a Principality Stadium crowd that was a throwback to the big atmospheres of previous good times.

What underpinned it all was the incredible effort level of the players. Even in the final quarter on Saturday, with the score at 31-7 and things effectively wrapped up, the Cymru players were still making multiple last-ditch try saving interventions and celebrating them as if they had scored a try themselves. It’s difficult to teach that level of commitment.

A great end to a great tournament in which Steve Tandy’s men finally began playing their part again. Now it’s all eyes on the summer and backing this up.