The China Mail - Whitewashed Wales finish bottom as Ireland eye Six Nations title

Defeat meant Wales ended a Six Nations propping up the table for the first time since 2003, when they also lost all five of their matches.

The Principality Stadium reverse was a sad way for Wales star George North, who went off injured late on, to bow out from Test rugby in the centre's final match before international retirement.

Italy, however deserved their win after scoring fine tries through Monty Ioane and and Lorenzo Pani to lead 18-0 until the 65th minute, before a late Wales rally flattered the hosts.

Victory meant Italy had their best Six Nations season return of two wins and a draw, with this win following last weekend's 31-29 defeat of Scotland in Rome and a 13-13 thriller with France.

It also ensured the Azzurri avoided a ninth straight 'wooden spoon' in the tournament.

"I want to say thank you to every single Italian here tonight," Azzurri captain Michele Lamaro told the BBC. "We want to achieve more than just not getting the 'wooden spoon', we have had a good tournament but know we can do better than this."

For Wales, rebuilding following the post-World Cup retirement of several senior players, it was another chastening defeat.

"The fans will find it painful, we do as well," said Wales coach Warren Gatland. "We didn't help ourselves in that first half and didn't get enough go forward or momentum.

"This rebuild isn't harder than we thought, we knew the inexperience we had in the squad and the players we asked to step up to leadership roles."

- Advantage Ireland -

Ireland are four points clear at the top of the table after second-placed England ended their dreams of back-to-back Grand Slams with a thrilling 23-22 win at Twickenham last week.

But if Ireland avoid defeat or claim two bonus points against Scotland in Dublin they will be assured of winning the championship, while even a solitary bonus point would likely prove enough.

But a pointless defeat would leave Ireland sweating on the result of England's game away to France later Saturday, the final match of the tournament.

Scotland will be bidding for their first Triple Crown -- when one of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales beats each of those other teams in a single championship season -- since 1990.

The Scots, however, have lost their past nine matches against Ireland in all competitions.

But wary Ireland coach Andy Farrell said: "When you're disappointed, all you want is an opportunity where there's a trophy on the line.

"And I know that as far as the Triple Crown is concerned, they've not won that for some time now and that makes them dangerous in our view."

Scotland boss Gregor Townsend is under no illusions about the challenge facing his side.

"We know how tough it's going to be," he said. "They (Ireland) are one of the top two teams in the world and at home they've been virtually unbeatable the last few years so it's going to require something special from our players."

England have travelled to France following arguably their best performance since a 2019 World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand, but they now face a France team whose formidable bench proved too strong for Wales in a 45-24 win in Cardiff.

"After such a hard-fought win against Ireland last week, we realise how important it is to back that performance up with another similar display in Lyon on Saturday," said England coach Steve Borthwick.

France thrashed England 53-10 at Twickenham last season but, following the disappointment of failing to win the 2023 World Cup on home soil, have rarely hit those heights this year.

Concerns remain about their defence, which is set to be tested by an improving England.

"In their game-plan, they (England) attack often, powerfully in the middle of the field," explained France coach Fabien Galthie. "We have to put our hands up and be counted, as we've done in the past."

W.Cheng--ThChM