Skipper Ken Owens believes the break from being at home will be good for his team as they seek to build on their bonus-point victory over Italy in Rome.
“France will be a big challenge next week but it’s a lot easier going there after a victory.” added Owens.
“They (Italy) are a dangerous team. They’ve got a style of play everyone has bought into, they move the ball well, which is very dangerous but can also get them into trouble.
“We just kept coming off the line and putting them under pressure, which we did for the majority of the first-half.
“In the second-half, we gave them chances. We lost the gain-line on a couple of occasions and put ourselves under pressure. “It’s been hard over the last seven weeks for many different reasons, with stuff on the field and stuff off the field.
“A new coach has come in, but we’ve stuck at it and kept working hard. We’ve got an opportunity to go to Nice this week and just concentrate on the game against France.
“We need to build and improve, we know that, but it’s easier to do that after a victory given the momentum and the confidence we’ve created.”
The 29-17 triumph earned Owens his first win as Wales captain, ensured Wales picked up their first points of the campaign and allowed head coach Warren Gatland to extend his unbeaten run against the Azzurri to 13 games.
“Some people have said there hasn’t been any effort and that we haven’t been trying but we certainly have been trying over the last seven weeks,” said Owens
“We work very hard as a squad, as do the coaching group and we’ve been building. Nobody gave us a chance here today but I’m just very happy not with proving people wrong, because I don’t care what people say, but with the effort we’ve put in.
“I’m just very proud of the boys. We’ve had a good performance and a good win, but we know we’ve got to improve.”
