Wales will be looking to make it two away wins on the trot when they take on a spirited Italian outfit on Saturday the 9th of February.
The Six Nations certainly got off to a fast start last weekend with points scored plenty in three very competitive fixtures. The competition was also blown wide open on the opening week with Ireland’s loss to England at home well and truly throwing the cat among the pigeons.
Italy v Wales
Saturday 9 February
Stadio Olimpico
18:45
To Win (80 Mins)
Italy 9/1
Draw 40/1
Wales 1/25
Italy
The Italians will be rather happy with their Round 1 efforts which saw them go down 33-20 to Scotland at Murrayfield. While they were thoroughly outplayed in all facets of the game, they did manage to finish strongly at Murrayfield with three late tries seeing the Italians take their total from three points to 20.
While that late resurgence will offer head coach Connor O’Shea some consolation, he must know that his side has a tough task on their hands even keeping the scoreline down here considering Wales beat them 38-14 when the two sides met in last year’s competition.
Wales
One team that benefited greatly from Ireland’s loss was the Welsh, who got their campaign off to an ideal start by beating France 19-24 out in Paris.
The Dragons will have taken more than just four points from this game, with Warren Gatland’s men showing superb team spirit to come down from 16-0 at half-time to run out five-point victors.
Key to the Welsh comeback was giant winger George North who dotted down twice in the second stanza to ensure Wales extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games.
Wales will need a much faster start this time around if they are to hold off a spirited Italian side who were oh so close to upsetting the ‘Scots last weekend. Warren Gatland will be reminding his players of this as the veteran coach will be keen to see his side grab a bonus point win here as it would put them in an extremely commanding position headed into Round 3.
Verdict: Wales (-18.5) 9/10
While Italy should put up a better fight at home I can’t see them keeping the losing margin below 15 points.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets
