Aaron Wainwright confident Wales have bright future after win over Italy

Aaron Wainwright believes brighter times lie ahead for Wales after their Six Nations drought was ended by a closing victory over Italy.

Wales won 31-17 in Cardiff on Saturday to end a 15-game losing streak in the tournament that stretched back to March 2023.

It was only Wales’ third win in 28 Tests – the other two were against Japan – and acts as a huge boost ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship this summer.

Wales kick off that campaign against Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium on July 4 before travelling to Argentina and South Africa on successive weekends.

“We started the campaign against England, and the first 20 minutes we were incredibly poor with our discipline and the accuracy wasn’t there,” said Leicester-bound back-rower Wainwright, who shrugged off a pre-game injury scare to score two tries and be named player of the match.

“How we’ve grown throughout the tournament could really set us up for when we come into the next campaign.

“Steve (Tandy, head coach) is really big on his care and connection and making sure we’re all aligned with what we want to achieve when we’re not in camp.

“So if we get that right over the next couple of months coming into summer tours we can really hit the ground running.”

Wales were cast as Six Nations whipping boys after conceding 102 points in disastrous opening defeats to England and France.

But huge strides were made in narrow losses to Scotland and Ireland before a stunning opening 47 minutes against Italy, in which Wales stormed into a 31-0 lead, set up that elusive victory.

Wainwright said: “Given the circumstances of where we are as a country, in terms of our past results and performances, it’s great to get the win and end the campaign on a high.

“But if we are being realistic about it we probably should have had more wins from the campaign.

“Going forward hopefully this is a bit of momentum that we need to kick on and haul ourselves to those standards that we set here.”

The Six Nations has been conducted amid turmoil in the professional game in Wales, with the Welsh Rugby Union’s plan to cut the number of men’s sides from four to three drawing widespread criticism from supporters and politicians.

Swansea Council has initiated legal action over the perceived threat to the Ospreys’ existence, and an extraordinary general meeting has been called by at least 50 clubs who have asked for a vote of no confidence in WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood.

The EGM is set to take place next month, but the WRU are determined to implement their controversial proposals.

WRU director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin told the BBC on Saturday: “Economically we can’t support four teams at the same level as teams in the (English) Prem or elsewhere.

“That means the resources, the coaching, the medical staff, have to be at a higher level if we are going to support this (playing) talent.”