6 Nations Tournament: “It's the best Tournament in our history”, subscribed to the wooden spoon, Italy forces its destiny by winning in Cardiff

Les Italiens peuvent exulter : ils ont maté (21-24) les Gallois ce samedi à Cardiff. MAXPPP – Joe Giddens

Big blue skies for the Squadra Azzurra in this Tournament. Gonzalo Quesada's men achieve the best performance in their history since their induction in 2000.  

"We really have to take advantage of this moment, it's the best Tournament in our history with two victories and a draw . We could have had three victories except for a very small detail", Italy captain Michele LamaroLamaro said on Saturday.

Italy scored a second victory in a row to close a historic campaign in the 6 Nations Tournament, Saturday in Cardiff against Wales (24-21 ) good last after waking up way too late.

The team in the blue jersey, initially solid and efficient, took the lead, until leading 11-0 at half-time, before gritting their teeth in a end of the game where the Welsh crossed the Italian goal three times, in vain.

🏉 #SixNationsRugby | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿⚡🇮🇹 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗹'𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘂 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗱𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀 (21-24) 💥

En ne perdant que 2 de ses 5 matchs, les Italiens réalisent leur meilleure prestation dans le Tournoi des Six Nations ! Hi-sto-ri- que !#WALvITA pic.twitter.com/E5hLqvLqsO

— francetvsport (@francetvsport) March 16, 2024

Quesada, debut with fanfare

Tries from winger Monty Ioane (20th) and fullback Lorenzo Pani (46th), as well as a conversion and four penalties from Paolo Garbisi, were enough for the happiness of the selection led by Gonzalo Quesada.

We found our gaming identity

The Argentinian coach, who took office after the 2023 World Cup, recalled that he was"said during his first press conference that this team was going to be talked about". "We worked well . In each match, we played better than in the previous one, we found our playing identity. I am very proud of this team, of our project, of our way of working", insisted the former Argentinian international.

In the opposite camp, the Welsh of Warren Gatland have long seemed lost on their ground, as in this disagreement between Cam Winnett and Sam Costelow on the reception of a long ball, concluded by a -before (30th). They had the merit of returning to the game with tries from Elliot Dee (64th), Will Rowlands (80th) and Mason Grady (80th+2), enough to alleviate a little the sad end of the international career of George North.

North, failed goodbyes

The center of the Ospreys (121 caps), winner of the Tournament four times, left the pitch at the very end of the match, grimacing and supported by two members of the medical staff, under the cheers from the crowd. This will be the last image of North after fourteen rich years in the red jersey.

Unfortunately, it comes with the "wooden spoon", a last place in the Tournament that the XV du Poireau had avoided since 2003.

Italy for its part abandoned the donkey cap that it had worn during the eight previous editions, finishing in fifth and penultimate place as in 2015.

Best course since 2000

The rankings don't tell the whole story of the Azzurri's performance, however. They were able to recover from the short initial defeat 27-24 against England and the slap against Ireland (36-0) by following up with a historic draw against France (13 -13) then two victories, against the Scots (31-29) then the Welsh.

This is their best run since their inclusion in the competition in 2000, but not their best finish. They finished fourth in 2007 and 2013, after two wins and three losses.