By David Williams
James Botham has told his Wales teammates they must quickly put behind them the disaster of their opening night in Paris as they prepare for a crucial Six Nations encounter against Italy in Rome on Saturday.
The Cardiff flanker has stressed the need to move forward after their 43-0 loss to France in Paris, which extended their losing streak to 13 matches dating back to the 2023 World Cup.
That dismal run includes a home defeat to Italy in last year’s competition, which saw Wales finish at the foot of the standings and has left Welsh rugby in a deep slump.
Wales currently holds a lowest-ever position of 11th in the World Rugby rankings, and a loss in Rome could see them slip below Georgia, who are expected to secure a victory over the Netherlands this weekend.
“It’s tough, obviously, getting a loss,” said Botham, part of the Wales squad currebntly training in Nice in the south of France.
“We knew there was going to be a tough game for a lot of the boys. For some, it was their first time playing there.
“We knew it was going to be loud with the crowd and everything like that.
“Any loss is going to hurt with people saying it’s one of the biggest losses we had, with no points scored. But we’ve got to move on to the next thing now… you can’t bog yourself down.”
Wales cannot afford to be bogged down by the margin, or manner, of last week’s defeat by France as they prepare to take on Italy in the Six Nations in Rome on Saturday, flanker James Botham said on Tuesday. https://t.co/aPEz9K8eCu https://t.co/aPEz9K8eCu
— Reuters Sports (@ReutersSports) February 4, 2025
Italy, who have won two of their last three meetings with Wales, will take confidence from their home advantage despite suffering a defeat to Scotland last weekend at Murrayfield.
With tnat in mind, Botham stressed the need for an aggressive start to the match.
“Italy will be passionate about it and it’ll be a good battle between the back rows. We need to get a win now and see if we can finish off in a better position than last year,” he said.
“We’ve got to come out all guns blazing in the first 20 (minutes) and show what we can do. The performance and result is what we want.”
Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys reinforced the significance of the fixture but was keen to highlight that every international match carries weight.
“Every single game in international rugby goes down in history. The pressure doesn’t make you perform better, it’s about being clear in what we want to do and achieve,” Humphreys said.
“It’s about the process we put in place, how every single minute matters, how we execute the management of our game.
“We can’t concentrate on it being a massive game. France was a massive game. So are the ones against Ireland, Scotland, and England – all of them will be written down in history.”
Jonathan Humphreys on Wainwright.
“He had an unbelievable gash in terms of you could see his teeth through that. That’s the thing for us. He’s a tough, tough kid and he’s like ‘I’ll be alright, they can just stitch me back up’ but it’s a pretty bad gash to have.” pic.twitter.com/M2hmEcTSeD
— Dragons Lair Podcast (@DragonsLairPod) February 4, 2025
Humphreys also warned of the physicality Italy brings to the contest, particularly in the contact area.
“Italy are a top-quality side. They are very physical and extremely physical in the contact area.
“When you are in a situation like we are, it’s easy to talk about a game being ‘must win.’ We know all that – it’s about trying to get the players to focus on what we can control.”
There was some positive news on the injury front, with back-row duo Taulupe Faletau and Aaron Wainwright potentially available for selection after missing or exiting early from the France match.
Wainwright, who left the field within the opening minutes in Paris due to a deep facial cut, has not suffered a fracture, raising hopes of his involvement in Rome.
“It was a bad gash to have,” Humphreys said of Wainwright’s injury, “but it’s not a fracture.
“Training will be a key indicator of whether he and Taulupe will be available to us. We are pretty hopeful on the pair of them.”
However, Ospreys centre Owen Watkin will not feature this weekend after sustaining a knee injury in the first half against France.
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