The 34-year-old Cardiff Rugby No. 8 returns to pick up his 105th cap at Stadio Olimpico at the weekend, having not featured for Wales since the 43-19 victory over Georgia in the final pool game of Rugby World Cup 2023 due to injury.
“Taulupe wasn’t quite ready for last week but now he’s ready to go. It’s a real confidence booster for us,” admitted Gatland.
“He has experience and probably a little bit of X-factor. We know what an outstanding player he’s been in the past for Wales and even though he hasn’t had a lot of games in the last few years, just having him back gives everyone a lot of confidence.”
With Faletau coming in at No 8, Aaron Wainwright moves to the bench. Wainwright was removed four minutes into the game in Paris after receiving a nasty cut to his face.
“I spoke to Aaron early in the week and he said he was 100% keen to be available. He wasn’t looking at any opportunity to not put himself in contention to be selected,” added Gatland.
“He didn’t get much time last week so it’s good to see him back and hopefully having an impact off the bench.”
Both teams in Rome are seeking their first victory of the 2025 Championship. Italy suffered a 31-19 defeat against Scotland in Edinburgh, while Wales were beaten 43-0 by France in Paris.
“We possibly didn’t express ourselves as much as we could have last week,” noted Gatland.
“There were some opportunities and we’ve spoken about being calm and relaxed, particularly on attack – when we get chances, we need to make sure we execute them.
“We did a heat map on us and France and found they made most of their tackles in the middle of the park while we tended to make a lot of our tackles around the 22. It’s just getting the balance right and not overplaying.”
After a good week of preparation away from any outside noise in Nice Gatland is looking for an improvement on last weekend and a win to break the current sequence.
“We’ve spoken as a group about how important this game is for us,” said Gatland.
“The players have responded well, in terms of taking some leadership and ownership this week. They’re aware of how important this game is.
“You just try to be as positive as you possibly can and try to keep away from the white noise from the outside. That’s hugely important.
“Being down here in Nice this week and away from things has been a positive for us as a group. We are focusing on ourselves and preparing for this week.”
“People throw out comments like it’s a ‘must-win’ game, but you never talk about that as a group. You never say it’s a ‘must-win’ game you just make sure you do the right things as a group and in your preparation,” Gatland added.
