Wales grabbed their first win of the Six Nations as a try from prop Sisilia Tuipulotu salvaged a 22-20 win in front of a record crowd at the Principality Stadium.

The tale of the game was as old as time, Wales’ forward supremacy, against the Italians slick back play, but it was the visitors who would take the day.

Wales’ tries came through their front row with Carys Phillips and Gwenllian Pyrs scoring in either half before Sisilia Tuipulotu’s late effort.

Italy by contrast scored through wing Vittoria Minuzzi, substitute Francesca Granzotto and fly-half Emma Stevanin.

It was a vital win for Wales after a difficult Six Nations and head coach Ioan Cunningham was visibly emotional at the full-time whistle.

Despite the result Wales still ended up with the wooden spoon but it was a vital result to end a string of seven consecutive defeats.

Wales made four changes all in the backs as Keira Bevan and Jenny Hesketh returned to the starting fifteen whilst centre Hannah Bluck and wing Lisa Neumann made their first appearances of the Six Nations.

The beginning of the game saw a Welsh side reminiscent of what we have seen in the previous iterations of the Six Nations, however it would end with a familiar refrain from what we’d seen from the first four games this tournament.

Scrum and maul dominance leading to the home side being camped on the Italians line but some heroic defence from the visitors led to Abbie Fleming knocking the ball on under pressure from Azzuri’s star player Beatrice Rigoni.

Both sides had opportunities inside the opening 12 minutes to take an early lead but lacked the clinical edge to make their territory and possession count.

Wales were showing glimpses of clever play, a short lineout to Alisha Butchers saw Phillips hurtling down the wing and after Carys Cox made further yardage down the other flank the home side looked in business but a lack of communication between Lleucu George and Georgia Evans saw the number eight knock on.

However, moments later Wales tried the exact same move from the lineout, this time from just 10 yards out and Phillips managed to fend off a would-be tackler and crash over in the corner.

Keira Bevan’s conversion came up short and seconds later Italy were back level. Alyssa D’Inca stripped Hannah Bluck from the kick restart and fed wing Minuzzi to finish down the right. Rigoni kicked the extras to give her side a 7-5 lead.

Wales were winning consistent dominance in the scrum however in the lineout they struggled with repeated not-straight lineouts giving the visitors a reprieve.

The home side were struggling to consistently maintain momentum with good busts from Lisa Neumann and Sisilia Tuipulotu in particular followed by passes hitting the turf or knock-ons.

Wales had 66% territory in the first half but before the break Italy extended their lead through a penalty from Rigoni.

Wales began the second half in the same way as the first, however this time there was an end product as player of the match Pyrs crashed over from short range under the posts, giving Bevan the easiest of kicks to give Wales the lead.

Bevan extended the lead with a penalty from in front of the posts after a beautiful 50:22 from George.

Wales again spurned an opportunity after some great use of the blindside between Bevan and Neumann but the ball took too long to get to the other wing and they eventually lost the ball.

Italy made a change as fullback Beatrice Capomaggi was replaced by Granzotto and the back three had only been on the field five minutes before she was set up by D’Inca to score in the corner and the scores were back level.

10 minutes later and on penalty advantage, Italy fired the ball wide and after more good work from D’Inca it was fly-half Stevanin who snuck in in the corner.

Wales did have one final opportunity inside the final five minutes after a mammoth 50:22 from George from inside her own 10 metre line, however it would end in controversy.

Referee Aimee Barrett-Theron deemed on-field that the ball had been knocked on by Wales after which Evans pounced over the line, but evidence showed the ball had come off an Italian hand.

Upon review a scrum was given to Wales with the referee having blown prior to Evans grounding the ball.

From the scrum, Wales went through the phases and Tuipulotu crashed over to clinch a crucial win for the home side.

Fly-half Stevanin received a yellow card in the final seconds for a high shot on Wales substitute Kelsey Jones and Wales saw out the game for a vital victory.

Wales captain Hannah Jones speaking to BBC after the match said: “We 100% deserved that, we’ve had a tough campaign but kept working hard and I’m so happy for the girls to get over the line and get this win today.”

“I’d just like to thank the supporters that have continued to support us through the tough times and that’s definitely for you today, thank you very much.

“This group is absolutely amazing, we’d like to thank our staff as well who’ve worked hard and deserve that today.

“Resilience is key, we keep getting better and that’s just the start for us.”

Wales: (5) 22 Try: Phillips, Pyrs, Tuipulotu. Con: Bevan, George. Pen: Bevan.

Italy: (10) 20 Try: Minuzzi, Granzotto, Stevanin. Con: Rigoni, Pen: Rigoni.

 

Wales: Hesketh; Neumann, H. Jones, Bluck, Cox; George, Bevan (S. Jones 75mins); Pyrs (Rose 71mins), Phillips (K. Jones 61mins), Tuipulotu, John (Williams 59mins), Fleming (Hopkins 71mins), Butchers, Callender, Evans.

Italy: Capomaggi (Granzotto 52mins); Muzzo, D’Inca, Rigoni, Minuzzi; Stevanin, Stefan; Turani, Vecchini, Seye (Gai HT), Tounesi (Fedrighi 60mins), Duca, Arrighetti, Sgorbini, Giordano.