Six Nations 2026: Wales v Italy – The home team weighs the merits of performance over result

The need for this long-awaited success is confirmed by the stunning statistics of recent years.

Wales have suffered 25 losses in 27 international matches since the 2023 World Cup finals, and the only two victories in that period were against Japan.

It has been 1,491 days since Wales won a Six Nations match at home against Scotland in February 2022. Since then, there have been 11 successive tournament defeats in Cardiff.

Wales’ only win in the last 14 Tests in Cardiff was this narrow success versus Japan in November.

It has been 1,099 days since Wales won a Six Nations match anywhere, when they beat Italy in Rome in March 2023. Fifteen losses have followed in various rugby capitals across Europe.

Wales face the prospect of a third successive Six Nations defeat, and even if they end their losing streak, they are destined to take the wooden spoon – sitting last in the table – five points behind fifth-placed England.

This can only be avoided if there is a 100-point swing between Cardiff and England’s visit to France.

Wales have not finished bottom of the table for three consecutive years since 1989-91, although the points difference only entered the competition in 1994.

These stunning statistics show why Wales are desperate for victory, but Tandy is trying to protect his team from the pressure.

“I don’t think it’s pressure to win, but pressure to perform,” Tandy said. “Actually maybe it’s not pressure, it’s a challenge.

“We don’t want the wooden spoon, we want to win games and every time we go on the pitch we believe we can win. And that’s the same thing on Saturday.

“If we put crazy pressure on winning this weekend, it can add weight and all of a sudden you start to tighten things up.

“I believe that if we give our best performance together, we will be close to achieving what we want.”