Rhys Williams upped the stakes ahead of Saturday’s revenge mission against Italy by declaring it was the most important game in four years for Welsh rugby.
As if playing for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals was not enough, Wales also have revenge on their minds after the humbling in Rome eight months ago.
When the World Cup draw was made, this was the fixture that stood out both in terms of pride and qualification, and it is already living up to expectations.
“We are trying to treat it as any other international but there is definitely an edge to this one, especially given what happened in the Six Nations,” said Williams, part of that first Welsh team to lose to Italy.
“Although we shouldn’t need it, that game is sure to be on everyone’s minds during preparation and for motivation, especially those who were there.
“It was a horrible weekend and the defeat really hurt us badly. It was a huge disappointment and with the Six Nations restructured into one block, it was hard to get away from it.
“People constantly brought it up and after Rome, it was a very long seven weeks for us.
“We have all just put it down to experience but it would be nice to set the score right on Saturday.
“It’s basically going to be a showdown, both sides can qualify so we both have to win. It’s probably the biggest game for Wales for the last four years.”
Whether or not Williams will play on Saturday remains to be seen given his defensive frailties that were exposed in the shaky win over Tonga last weekend that has merely added to the tension in the build up to the game.
Another who admitted he was caught in “no man’s land” on occasions against the Tongans was makeshift wing Tom Shanklin who also has sore memories of Rome despite scoring Wales’ opening try.
“A lot of us are still thinking about that game, but we can’t let that dominate our thoughts as we need to concentrate on improving on the performance against Tonga,” said the ex-Saracens centre, now with Cardiff Blues.
“We can be a much better team than that but though we are playing with pride and passion, it doesn’t seem to be clicking at the moment and maybe that’s down to concentration.
“We know Italy have a solid pack and in many ways are similar to Tonga, they are big, strong, quick players but perhaps more agile. So to intimidate them we must match them physically, be harder in the ruck and stronger in the tackle, but something like that is all in your head.”
Someone who insists they will be totally focussed for Wales is lock Robert Sidoli whose family moved from Parma to run a chip shop in Merthyr before he was born.
Sidoli, 24, rejected an offer to pledge his future to Italy three years ago in order to pursue his dream of playing for Wales.
“There was really no question about it, I always wanted to play for Wales,” he said.
