Wales lose 10th straight Women's Six Nations game with defeat to Italy and pick up third consecutive wooden spoon

Wales fell 43-24 to Italy at Cardiff Arms Park to bring to an end what has been a disappointing campaign for the Welsh with just two points over their five games.

After a topsy-turvy first half in the Welsh capital, it was the home side who went in ahead 19-17 thanks to a converted try from Kelsey Jones on the stroke of half-time.

But quickfire scores from Francesca Sgorbini and Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi put Italy back on top shortly after the break.

A yellow card for Francesca Granzotto for a dangerous tackle handed Wales the numerical advantage late in the second half, but it was Italy who further extended their lead while down to 14 players, with fly-half Veronica Madia going over.

And Alyssa D'Inca touched down in the final few minutes to wrap up the result, although full-back Kayleigh Powell did score in the final minute to give Wales a late bonus point.

The defeat ensured that Wales would receive the wooden spoon - awarded to the team which finishes last in the tournament - for the third consecutive year.

"Disappointment is probably the word. We're frustrated as well, as a group," Wales second row Georgia Evans told the BBC.

"We've made so many strives forward but it's still not showing on the scoreboard. That 30 minutes after half-time, we were going after that this week but we're going to have to have a look at ourselves to see what happened during that time. We went in 19-17 up at half-time, so it's disappointing.

"You can't fault the effort of the girls and as a collective, you can't help but smile when you're in a Wales jersey."

The result also means the team has failed to pick up a win in the Women's Six Nations across the past two editions.

Their last victory in the tournament came on April 27, 2024 when they beat Italy 22-20.

While the result condemns Wales to another unsuccessful Women's Six Nations campaign, the victory lifts Italy up to third in the table ahead of Ireland's game with Scotland.

"What I've just said to the players is that we've just got to be better," Wales head coach Sean Lynn told the BBC.

"When you have the wind behind your back, you can't go into half-time 19-17 up, we leaked too many tries in that first half. In the second half, the breakdown just killed us.

"The big aim that we were going after today was that third quarter, that's been a really big area for us to be focusing on. We'll have to have a real deep dive into that."

Add TNT Sports as a preferred source here to enjoy more content like this.

Watch and stream the Gallagher PREM, Autumn Nations Series and Premiership Women's Rugby live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.