{"id":8305,"date":"2024-03-19T10:15:55","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T02:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/?p=8305"},"modified":"2024-03-19T10:16:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T02:16:00","slug":"italy-hands-wales-first-six-nations-whitewash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/rugby\/italy-hands-wales-first-six-nations-whitewash\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy Hands Wales First Six Nations Whitewash in Over Two Decades"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Italy inflicted a significant blow on Wales, handing them their first Six Nations whitewash in 21 years with a hard-fought 24-21 victory in Cardiff on Saturday. The defeat not only marked Wales&#8217; descent to the bottom of the Six Nations standings for the first time since 2003 but also served as a bittersweet farewell for George North, who departed injured in his final Test match before retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In contrast, Italy celebrated their best Six Nations campaign in years, securing two wins and a draw. The victory over Wales followed last week&#8217;s triumph against Scotland and a thrilling draw with France, a marked improvement that saw them avoid finishing at the bottom of the table for the ninth consecutive time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">How it looks after game 1!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GuinnessM6N?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#GuinnessM6N<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QnB929uQ06\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/QnB929uQ06<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Guinness Men&#39;s Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SixNationsRugby\/status\/1769035584519954772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">March 16, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Italy showcased their attacking prowess with fine tries from Monty Ioane and Lorenzo Pani, establishing an 18-0 lead until the 65th minute. Wales managed to narrow the gap with a try from Elliot Dee, but further penalties from Paolo Garbisi and Martin Page-Relo extended Italy&#8217;s lead to 24-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Wales staged a late comeback with tries from Will Rowlands and Mason Grady, it was not enough to deny Italy a well-deserved victory. Garbisi&#8217;s early penalties and Ioane&#8217;s electrifying run, followed by Pani&#8217;s clinical finish, underscored Italy&#8217;s dominance in the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/24hscore.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">24hscore<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">? Them post-match scenes from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Federugby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Federugby<\/a> ?<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GuinnessM6N?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#GuinnessM6N<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WALITA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#WALITA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OUXmpeDLPg\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/OUXmpeDLPg<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Guinness Men&#39;s Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SixNationsRugby\/status\/1769043324323741877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">March 16, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite Wales&#8217; attempts to mount a resurgence in the second half, Italy&#8217;s resolute defense, led by captain Michele Lamaro and standout performer Juan Ignacio-Brex, thwarted their efforts. Wales&#8217; frustration was evident as errors and miscommunications crept into their game, allowing Italy to maintain control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Principality Stadium reverberated with disappointment as Italy&#8217;s lead extended, prompting boos from the home fans. However, Wales found a glimmer of hope with Dee&#8217;s try and moments of attacking flair from Tomos Williams and Josh Adams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As George North bid farewell to international rugby amidst injury, Wales faced a tough challenge in overcoming Italy&#8217;s determined performance. Despite late tries from Rowlands and Grady, Italy held firm to secure a memorable victory and condemn Wales to a historic Six Nations whitewash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The match showcased Italy&#8217;s progress under coach Gonzalo Quesada, signaling a new era for Italian rugby. With a blend of attacking flair and resilient defense, Italy&#8217;s resurgence in the Six Nations provides optimism for the future of the sport in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Italy inflicted a significant blow on Wales, handing them their first Six Nations whitewash in 21 years with a hard-fought 24-21 victory in Cardiff on Saturday. The defeat not only marked Wales&#8217; descent to the bottom of the Six Nations standings for the first time since 2003 but also served as a bittersweet farewell for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":8320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","rank_math_description":"Italy inflicted a significant blow on Wales, handing them their first Six Nations whitewash in 21 years with a hard-fought 24-21 victory in Cardiff.","footnotes":""},"categories":[834],"tags":[2720,147,1607,1601],"class_list":["post-8305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugby","tag-italy","tag-rugby-union","tag-six-nations","tag-wales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8321,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8305\/revisions\/8321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/24hscore.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}