Wales lost 24-21 to the Italian powerhouse in Cardiff, dropping Saturday's hosts to the bottom of the Six Nations and without a win for the first time in 21 years.
For the Azzurri, tries from Monti Ioane and Lorenzo Pani helped secure an away win, allowing them to finally put down the wooden spoon for the first time since 2015.
Paolo Garbisi scored 11 points from the tee, Martin Page-Lillo added another penalty, and Elliott Dee, Will Rowlands and Mason Grady replaced Wales in the second half.
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Wales have lost seven consecutive Six Nations games at home, including two against Italy, and have now lost 10 games in all competitions since Warren Gatland returned for the second time as head coach. He started and won only one game.
Italy have helped them win eight consecutive tournaments, but this time they avoided that fate and the mood in Cardiff is a stark contrast to five years ago, when Wales beat Ireland to win the Six Nations title and the Grand Slam. It was spot on.
But the Azzurri will be able to look back on a memorable campaign that saw them defeat Scotland in Lille and draw with France.
And life has not been easy for Gatland and his players. Their next match will be against world champions South Africa in June, followed by a two-test tour to Australia.
Wales monopolized the ball from the start without launching a serious attack, and Italy took the lead with Garbisi's penalty kick in the 6th minute.
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Italy comfortably absorbed the continued pressure from Wales, but Garbisi doubled their lead with a second penalty after George North committed a foul for not releasing the ball on the floor.
And Wales' promising start quickly crumbled as North's midfield partner Nick Tompkins dropped a pass and Italy stormed up the field to score a brilliant try.
Garbisi, center Tommaso Menonchero and lock Federico Luzza combined well to form a strong attacking foundation, before Ioane dashed through the gap for a touchdown and Wales' defense unraveled.
Garbisi failed to convert, but Italy had an 11-point advantage after 20 minutes, and the wooden spoon was within Wales' sight.
The home side were leading by 6 and 7 points, a situation highlighted by a defensive mix-up between Sam Costelow and Cameron Wynnett that saw the ball knocked on, giving Italy an attacking scrum from 20 meters out. Became.
The Azzurri were unable to capitalize on it, but Wales' uncertainty and hesitation continued, and Tompkins came knocking again, even as Wales established a threatening position within Italy's 22 teams.
Wales looked completely unhinged by the scene, in contrast to Italy's almost calm and sure presence, with the visiting team in control with an 11-0 lead. This feeling was confirmed.
It was a poor start for Wales for 40 minutes, similar to the first half of their Six Nations opener against Scotland, when Scotland built up a 20-point advantage.
Italy attacked again just six minutes after the restart, with Ioane involved heavily and Pani cutting back inside Welsh winger Rio Dier for a powerful finish. Garbisi's conversion gave Wales an 18-point lead and it looked like there was no going back.
Gatland started to feel the changes and a glimmer of hope came when Dee tipped over and scored a try 16 minutes before Costelow scored.
However, Garbisi canceled this out with a 45-metre penalty kick and Page-Lillo scored from further range, and despite late tries from Rowlands and Grady, Wales ended their disastrous Six Nations season with a disappointing start. The end has come.
team
Wales: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Leffel, 6 Alex Leffel. Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacement: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Harry O'Connor, 19 Will Rowland, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Mason Grady
Italy: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Luis Reiner, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monti Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Canone, 7 Michele Ramaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Luzza, 4 Niccolo Canone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacement: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Mirco Spagnuolo, 18 Giosue Girocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Ross Vincent, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Martin Page Lello, 23 Leonardo Marin
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referee: Chris Busby (Ireland), Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)
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