1099 days.

It was over three years since Wales last won in the Six Nations before the 31-17 victory over Italy in the final round of the 2026 Six Nations.

The spirit, fight, and skill that Wales showed in their final Six Nations match against Italy, embody where Stev Tandy’s side are right now.

Nine games, and just two wins, to some, tell a story of Wales cementing their place outside of the very elite of international rugby, unable to compete with those looking to win the World Cup next autumn.

However, the performances in the back half of the campaign against Scotland, Ireland, and Italy have shown that there are green shoots in abundance for Tandy.

The Scotland result stung. 17-5 up at halftime, only lose 23-26, in part because of a fatal lapse of concentration that saw Finn Russell’s quickly taken kick-off find Darcy Graham as the Welsh defence’s backs were turned.

The try and resulting conversion proved to be the difference.

Wales’ fast start in that game brought the fans back onside. After shipping more than 100 points against England and France, optimism within the Welsh rugby ecosystem was in short supply.

Tries from Rhys Carre – more on him later – and Josh Adams saw Scotland, who have proved their quality this year with confident and swaggering wins over England and France, rocked to the brink of tipping, only for the likes of Russell and Rory Darge to wrestle some control.

After a vital fallow week of intense training and fine-tuning, Wales travelled to Dublin with a point to prove.

Having found lasting combinations in the front and back rows, as well as a gem of a centre in Eddie James, Wales showed some of the defensive mettle of old.

240 tackles, including a record 33 from Alex Mann and many more from the likes of Dafydd Jenkins, James Botham, Dewi Lake, and Ben Carter kept Ireland at bay in an absorbing first half.

And yet, when Wales did carve out opportunities in the opposition 22, they looked ruthless. Carre ended the Six Nations as Wales’ top try scorer in part because of close-range scores against France and Scotland, with the improvements in the forwards, orchestrated by Danny Wilson, clear to see.

However, not even Wilson, who coached Carre at Cardiff, could have predicted his remarkable 30-metre score against Ireland.

Picking the ball up at first receiver in the fifteen-metre channel – already an alien position for a prop – the Saracens loosehead threw an outrageous dummy to leave Rob Baloucoune spinning, gave him a hand-off for good measure and speed past fullback Jamie Osbourne to dot down.

It evoked memories of Graham Price against France, or Gethin Jenkins against Namibia and Ireland. One of the great tries from a prop in international rugby history.

The concern, in the middle of all this positivity, is how Wales maintain this sheer level of intensity required to make more than 200 tackles a game.

The drop offs against Ireland and Scotland in the second half were noticeable and while Wales’ bench is solid, they miss the likes of Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell who can win a turnover and put a stop to the endless phases.

Mann and Botham are in the modern mould of all-rounder flankers, equally comfortable with six or seven on their backs, and have made some key turnovers this campaign.

With Tandy’s original captain Morgan set to be back this summer, Wales’ pack looks in good shape for the tough task of away trips to Argentina, Fiji, and South Africa.

The question now, though, at the end of another gruelling campaign is whether performance still matters more than results.

Undoubtedly the result and nature of the victory against Italy matters.

This Wales squad is a young one and, due to the nature of Wales’ losing run over the last two and a half years, does not have much winning experience.

For the likes of Eddie James, Ben Carter, Dan Edwards, Alex Mann, and others who have shown that they belong at international level, having a home win in front 70,000 will only spur them to try and repeat their feats.

Aaron Wainwright, an abrasive forward forged in the 2019 heights, when Grand Slams and World Cup semi-finals were the norm, broke the game open for the home side, with two expertly taken tries.

Dewi Lake, prior to the game, was asked if his side would take a 6-3 victory, rather than another good performance in defeat.

When he emerged from the back the back of the Welsh maul to score his side’s third, the Ospreys man will have been thinking what a stupid question that was.

21-0 at halftime and the Principality was rocking.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, following a converted try and drop goal from the impish Dan Edwards and it was a party on Westgate Street.

Josh Navidi has just finished his halftime DJ set, but the way the crowd cheered, you would have thought that the former flanker had carried on.

Italy did comeback and score three consolation tries, giving Wales’ players the chance to reiterate their desire for the perfect performance, but here, with the result wrapped up with half an hour to go in the match, no one minded.

Tandy has faced questions throughout the campaign about Wales’ progress, with the answer rarely changing.

“If we get the performance, the result will follow,” Tandy said. “I want both, if I’m honest.

“I genuinely believe in this group and can see where we want to go in the distance but also understand the here and now. The performance will get us closer. We can’t control the outcome. You see in games, the bounce of the ball might not always go your way, but what we have to be is consistent.

“The closer you get, like we did in the Scotland and Ireland games, and if you’re in more games, results will follow. As a nation, we want both. You can get a win, but actually are you still growing?

“They should go hand in hand. We want to produce a performance that replicates what we did over the last few weeks but also makes it better. We’ve got to keep chasing that win, but what gets us the win is that performance.”

Against Italy, Tandy finally got both.

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