And so, let it be said sotto voce, the end is nigh. After losing 15 in a row, Wales have given thumping notice of their readiness to win a Six Nations match without further ado, in Cardiff next weekend.

The message could be heard blowing on the wind across the Irish Sea since Friday night’s often heroic stand in Dublin, as if the gods of the game have decreed that the hardest of hard times shall come to a grandstand finish against Italy on Saturday afternoon.
Michele Lamaro’s Azzurri will have a lot to say about that and the one opponent they have grown accustomed to leaving up the creek in...