| Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 16 March Kick-off: 14:15 GMT |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online; listen on BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru; text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app. |
Wing Josh Adams says Wales must not “shy away” from what awaits them in a pressure-filled cauldron of Saturday’s Wooden Spoon decider against Italy.
Wales, currently four points adrift of their fifth-placed opponents, must win to have any chance of avoiding of finishing bottom of the Six Nations for the first time since 2003.
Even victory might not be enough if bonus-points come into play.
“It is a bit of a different pressure,” said Adams.
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium has played host to Six Nations title successes and witnessed Grand Slam glory, but the contrast this weekend could hardly be greater.
There is no silverware at stake, just the Six Nations’ mythical “prize” for finishing bottom of the table and this season it is a straight shoot-out between Wales and Italy.
Adams, 28, accepts the heat is on.
“Pressure when you are in a game to win something, it feels a little bit different,” said Adams.
“There is something at the end of it, whereas this is a situation where we can’t afford to lose.
“We have to have the mindset that international rugby is all about winning, and we haven’t been able to do that yet. We are desperate to win.
“You have to embrace it and not shy away from it. We can’t go in our shells and cover up.
“We have had the mentality of ‘let’s take this head on, let’s be at our best this weekend and let’s finish with what we feel we deserve, which is a good victory’.”
Adams has enjoyed Grand Slam and Six Nations success and been part of a side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2019, the same year Wales were briefly ranked number one in world.
“Sometimes you learn best from your losses, but there are only learnings if you show improvements the following week, otherwise there is no point,” said Adams
“I won my first Test at home against Scotland, then lost away against England and I didn’t lose for nine Tests after that. I was in a team that didn’t know how to lose.
“That is the sort of journey we are going to have to get to where it becomes second nature where we understand how to close games out, how to squeeze opposition better and see tough Test matches out.
“International rugby is a cut-throat business, and you need to perform at your best every week if you want to win.”
Adams has had a quiet campaign after struggling with a knee injury before the Six Nations.
“My form has been better as the tournament has gone along,” said Adams.
“I struggled with my knees from playing with Cardiff coming into the campaign, which wasn’t ideal. I wanted some more match minutes under my belt coming into camp.
“My knees kept filling up with blood so I was having them drained fairly regularly. Up towards 50ml of blood every time, which was a bit of a hinderance. Thankfully, they have been a lot better as we’ve gone through the campaign.”
Erasing the past
Wales’ last Six Nations victory was against Italy in Rome 12 months ago, while the Azzurri triumphed 22-21 on their last Cardiff visit in 2022.
Try-scorer Adams was named player-of-the-match and promptly gave his medal to visiting full-back Ange Capuozzo, who is unavailable through injury on this occasion.
That game was Alun Wyn Jones 150th Wales cap and Dan Biggar’s 100th, while this time around the game is George North’s farewell appearance before retiring from Test rugby.
“I would like to think we can send off George with a win and not have a repeat of the result when Dan and Al reached their incredible milestones,” said Adams.
“It is important we do something for George. He has had many memorable moments for Wales, and his contribution to Welsh rugby has been incredible.
“There are no real words to sum him up. I would just like to say ‘thank you’ for the way he has helped me.”
