Harris, who will start at fly-half for
‘For the first time I feel like a rugby union player rather than a rugby league player who is playing union,’ said Harris.
‘I feel comfortable saying that I am a union player now.
‘I still enjoy watching both games and I saw the Sale Sharks clash with
Harris has endured a horrible season behind a beaten
‘The big games are the ones you want to play in as a player. The pressure occasions are when you want to perform.
‘I think I’m coming into a bit of form as the Six Nations is about to begin and there is a big opportunity ahead of me.
‘I’m very excited about it all. The hype and build-up surrounding the Six Nations championship is exactly what I expected and with the World Cup coming up later in the year there is a lot to aim for.
‘This is why I came to rugby union – to play on the international stage. It is the way you react to opportunities like those ahead of us now that measures whether or not you are a good player.
And Harris is well aware of the banana skin waiting for the Welsh in
‘I wasn’t aware of the fact
‘This is a new team and we won’t let records worry us. We have the ammunition to win the game. We are building as a squad towards the World Cup and I think we are starting to gel together.’
Wales: R Williams; M Jones, L Davies, T Shanklin, Gareth Thomas; I Harris, D Peel; I Thomas, M Davies, B Evans, R Sidoli, S Williams, M Owen, M Williams, C Charvis (capt).
Replacements (from): G Williams, G Jenkins, D Jones, Gavin Thomas, G Cooper, C Sweeney, M Watkins, G Llewellyn, K Morgan.
Italy: Paolo Vaccari; Mauro Begamasco, Cristian Stoica, Giovanni Raineri, Denis Dallen; Diego Dominguez, Alessandro Troncon (cap); Matthew Phillips, Aaron Persico, Andrea De Rossi, Marco Bortolomi, Christian Bezzi, Ramiro Martinez, Carlo Festuccia, Giampiero De Carli
Replacements: Andrea Moretti, Salvatore Perugini, Mark Giacheri, Scott Palmer, Juan Manuel Quierolo, Ramiro Pez
