Rome - Wales produced a majestic second half performance at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday afternoon to beat Italy by 61-20. The Welsh side ran in seven tries during the second period, which included a hat-trick for George North.

 There was a buzz around the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, as if the home supporters were anticipating a reaction following last week’s drubbing against France, in which Italy became the first team to fail to trouble the scorers in this year’s Six Nations Championship. These hopes were certainly not unfounded, as the first half against Wales could be described as arguably the Italians’ best period of the tournament.

 Italy made a fast start to the game and when Wales conceded an early penalty, the Azzurri were awarded a chance to draw first blood. Fly half Kelly Haimona showed none of the nerves, which had plagued his side during the France game, to slot the kick for a 3-0 lead. Unfortunately Haimona was forced to withdraw with an injury shortly after to be replaced by Luciano Orquera.

After the teams had traded two penalties apiece, the score stood at 6-6 just before the mid-point in the first half. However, on the 19 minute mark Leigh Halfpenny produced a moment of magic, scything the Italian defence open with a kick that was gratefully accepted by Jamie Roberts who touched down for the first try of the match. Halfpenny missed the resulting conversion but the score gave his side an 11-6 lead.

Far from rolling over however, the Italians responded magnificently to going behind. A relentless maul brought them within sight of the Welsh line and Giovambattista Venditti powered over for a try, which was converted by Orquera to put the Azzurri back in the lead. 

Having lost Leigh Halfpenny to a head injury, replacement kicker Dan Biggar scored a penalty with the last action of the half to send Wales into the break with a 14-13 lead.

Warren Gatland must have had some stern words for his men during the interval, as Wales were a team transformed in the second half. Liam Williams began a remarkable phase for his team with a try eight minutes after the break and over the course of 26 second half minutes, Wales went on to score 47 unanswered points.

George North was undoubtedly the star of the show in the second period, scoring a quick fire hat-trick of tries on 50, 55 and 59 minutes however Wales showed that as a team they are able to play a relentless brand of attacking rugby. There were also scores for Rhys Webb, captain Sam Warburton and Scott Williams, with Biggar successfully kicking six conversions.

It was always likely that the winners of this year’s Six Nations would be decided on points difference and with England and Ireland holding advantages of 25 and 21 points respectively over Wales, Gatland’s men knew they would have to beat Italy by around 50 points to have a strong chance of victory.

When Scott Williams’ try and the subsequent conversion brought the scoreline to 61-13, Welsh fans were daring to dream, but in fact it was the Italians who would have the last laugh. Leonardo Sarto was set free down the left wing and ensured he remained in touch before scoring the game’s final try. Orquera slotted a tricky conversion and a breathtaking match ended 61-20 to Wales.

After one of the great days of international rugby, Wales finished third on points difference, four behind England and ten behind eventual champions Ireland. However, it makes you think, had Wales conjured up a performance akin to their second half in Rome a little earlier in the championship, it could well have been a very different story.