Six Nations 2026: Wales v Italy – Gonzalo Quesada says hosts ‘should win’

Wing Louis Lynagh is one of the players who has enjoyed success at Cardiff, having been part of the winning Italian side in 2024.

Lynagh said: “It’s always good to be back here. I have great memories from two years ago and I hope we can relive that.”

“People in our team now have the experience of playing in these big moments and stadiums, so hopefully we can go on and win more games.”

Welsh fans may be hoping Italy will remain in a state of exhaustion after their success against England, but Lynagh has dispelled that notion.

“We celebrated well after the match but quickly turned our attention to recovering and facing Wales,” he said.

“We don’t want to [the win against England] To be a huge rise followed by a decline.

“Italy had that big win in the past, but it was one win and we lost the next week. We were striving for that consistency and that was one of our biggest growths and something Gonzalo brought.

“He has done a fantastic job so far and the team is fully behind him.”

Italy have some links with Wales, with the Welsh-speaking half of the squad Stephen Varney on the bench this weekend.

Defense coach Richard Hodges was a former member of the Cardiff management team and worked at Arms Park with current Wales backroom duo Danny Wilson and Matt Sherratt.

“Wales has been at a difficult point in its story but its growth in the Six Nations has been amazing,” Lynagh said.

“People will say they have lost four games in a row and it won’t be a difficult match, but we believe exactly the opposite.

He added: “They probably had to beat Scotland and Ireland, so we know it will be a tough match and we prepared accordingly.”