Team for Italy

[Sandydragon]

Italy staring to give away a few too many penalties.

[Sandydragon]

Cheeky pass from Biggar and we have our second try. Went a bit quiet for a few moment but that was good pressure.

We really shouldn’t have scored that mind, plenty of defenders there.

[Sandydragon]

Our kicking game looks a bit more intelligent.

[Sourdust]

Lovely try. Very nice pass from the new kid Tompkins.

What a cameo from [checks spelling] Tompkins that was. One textbook jackal, then his 1st international pass is a killer. Really not sure we wanted North back there after that, but of course there's a plan and fair enough.

How nice is this? No slow start, no early nerves, no "need to stay patient". Without setting anything on fire Wales have just gone about things efficiently and clinically and are in cruise control. Heady days.

Let's hope we can kick on and post a significant win now.

[Sandydragon]

So 21-0 up at half time and it looks comfortable. Scrum is under some pressure and the lineout hasn’t been perfect. But we are making lots of inroads and keeping Italy stuck in their own half.

Nothing spectacular but it has been clinical.

[normanski]

So 21-0 up at half time and it looks comfortable. Scrum is under some pressure and the lineout hasn’t been perfect. But we are making lots of inroads and keeping Italy stuck in their own half.

Nothing spectacular but it has been clinical.

It’s all you could ask for first time out. Just hope we are fully up to speed next week.

[Sandydragon]

Our scrum is starting to become a worry. It’s giving Italy a platform.

[normanski]

Our scrum is starting to become a worry. It’s giving Italy a platform.

Yep. Lewis is now struggling giving away another scrum penalty.

[Sandydragon]

Oh so close
To being a great try.

Tompkins is a real handful.

[normanski]

I hope we don’t go ragged chasing the BP and give away a try.

[normanski]

Job done BP win. Next week will be harder by a factor of two.

[Ross. S]

Dont think we could ask for much more than that. Looked quite good, took our chances, got the BP and nilled the opposition. Maybe PD will become a factor towards the end of the championship but thems the breaks

[Sandydragon]

40 nil and a bonus point win is a cracking start.

Italy were always fighting hard and we always had to work hard for the scores. In that respect is was a good run out and a great start.

Some concerns. Scrum being the biggest. We would have won by more except for the scrum penalties which kept us pinned back for too long. Lineout was also shaky at times but was generally ok.

North did alright at centre but Tompkins took his opportunity well. One bad tackle aside, he looked a real handful with ball in hand and brought some quality passing to our back line. I think we need to see him against better opposition and he deserves the opportunity to see if he can play against the best.

[normanski]

Difficult to know if that Italian team are poor (as per usual) or whether Wales were immense. They didn’t do a lot wrong but tight Welsh defence and silly errors give them little go forward.

Looking forward to see how Ireland go this afternoon.

They should overcome Scotland with relative ease but you never know.

[Sourdust]

Difficult to see how that could have gone much better.

Arguably could have scored even more but as Pivac hinted, the best aspect of today is that we've had lots of imperfections highlighted, for zero cost. Italy were awful but 42-0 will do against anybody, thank you.

Faletau and Hill back in the engine room, ½p looking back somewhere near his best, Biggar running an attacking backline, Tompkins looking the business from his 1st touch... all very positive.

It did look for a while as if we might fall short of the BP. God, I hate those things... Just imagine winning 28-0 and being dejected about it. It must have been tempting to kick the ball dead at the end to protect the bagel, but I'm pleased we didn't and went for that last try. Nil is lovely but you don't get anything for it, whereas points difference might be crucial later.

[Sandydragon]

And as somebody has already commented, the first game is usually Italy’s best. They certainly didn’t lie down during that match.

[Ross. S]

And as somebody has already commented, the first game is usually Italy’s best. They certainly didn’t lie down during that match.

I think more importantly, the first game is always our worst. If we continue to gel and improve then we'll be at or towards the top by the end of the tournament

[Sandydragon]

And as somebody has already commented, the first game is usually Italy’s best. They certainly didn’t lie down during that match.

I think more importantly, the first game is always our worst. If we continue to gel and improve then we'll be at or towards the top by the end of the tournament

Good point.

[morepork]

That's what, 23 losses in a row for Italy in the 6N?

[fivepointer]

"However, Italy has not won a Six Nations match since their 22–19 away win against Scotland in Round 3 of the 2015 tournament, losing every game since; this equates to a losing run of 22 matches"

Its now 23 and something has to give, surely?

Wales did what they needed to do and will be pleased enough with a BP win.

[normanski]

Just watched the highlights of the Dublin game. Surprised the Scotland scrum got the nudge on Ireland at times.

Ireland still not looking at their best. They might be worried about next week after this performance.

[Son of Mathonwy]

That's pretty much what I hoped for from Pivac - retain our discipline and defence but gain a cutting edge in attack. Perfect result.

Not quite sure why we went for three penalties early on when tries are needed. After the first (points on the board and all that) we should have been kicking for the corner to get the 4 tries - the first ten minutes showed this was not going to be an arm wrestle.

Ireland's defence was ferocious but they still struggled against Scotland - and were lucky that Hogg is clueless. No doubt they'll be better next week, but so will we.

Has Tompkins done enough to dislodge North I wonder? (Not that North was bad.)

[Sourdust]

Not quite sure why we went for three penalties early on when tries are needed. After the first (points on the board and all that) we should have been kicking for the corner to get the 4 tries - the first ten minutes showed this was not going to be an arm wrestle.

Naaah, it's still competition rugby, you have to take the points until you're at least 2 scores clear. Once it was 14-0, we kicked the next pen to the corner even though it was a straightforward goal. I think that's the right balance.

Has Tompkins done enough to dislodge North I wonder? (Not that North was bad.)

Part of me says if you're going to try North at 13 you have to give him a decent run there; and to be fair he did okay today. But Tompkins looked very, VERY good, didn't he? Seemed totally at home, as if it was his 10th cap, not his 1st. It's going to be interesting.

[Sandydragon]

Really hard to know what to do about North. With Liam returning we already have a back three quandary and Owen Watkin will also be back soon. North did alright but as a centre he wasn’t sensational against some average opposition.

Tompkin displayed a real range of talent and whilst the opposition needs to be taken into account, I’m trying to remember the last time I saw a welsh centre deliver a pass like that. Probably Henson.

Privac could stick and use Tompkins off the bench. That would be the low risk option and give both opportunities to show what they can do. No harm at all having an impact sub for when Parkes runs out of steam. Or if North has a nightmare. But a large part of me would suggest replacing North from the start. This experiment feels like it will go wrong at some point and unless we are prepared to persevere until North is far more experienced then pick a player in their right position.

[bruce]

Thought both debutantes did well, and halfpenny had his best game for a while.