Wales v Italy - Match 1 Six Nations 2020 - Game details

A fresh year, a fresh start with new coaches as Wales and Italy kick-start the proceedings in the Six Nations 2020 tournament at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

The last time Wales played in the Six Nations tournament they clinched a Grand Slam and also held the number one ranking for a brief period but they will have to deal with the step down of their long-standing coach Warren Gatland with Scarlets boss Wayne Pivac replacing him. They will be without Liam Williams, who hasnt played a game since returning from World Cup with injury but will be relieved to have the services of Taulupe Faletau but the spotlight will be on young and talented Gloucester winger Rees-Zammit.

Italy on the other hand will have their task cut out with talks of their relegation emerging, and will be going into the tournament odds on to finsihed bottom according to rugby bets with 888. Since their inception, the Azzurri have played 98 games winning just 12 out of it and their last win in the competition came back in 2015. Franco Smith has been appointed the head coach of side replacing Conor O'Shea, who had a tough stint with the side.

Game Details:

Date and Time: 1st February, Saturday, 2.15pm local

Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Broadcasters: BBC Sport, france.2, Virgin Media, DMax, NBC Sports, S4C

Recent Performances: After finishing unbeaten in the four group games, Wales edged out France in the quarter-final of the recently concluded World Cup in Japan last year but were defeated in the semi-final by the eventual champions South Africa while Italy had two wins and a no result in the four games of the opening round.

Head to Head Record: The two teams have played 27 games between them with Wales winning 24 out of it with two victories for Italy coming in 2003 and 2007. At Principality Stadium, Italy have never managed to beat Wales in 11 attempts with their best result coming in a 18-18 draw in 2006.

The last time these two teams met was during the 2019 Six Nations tournament where Wales registered a 15-26 victory in Rome.

Squad details:

Wales:

Forwards: Rhys Carre, Rob Evans, Wyn Jones, Elliot Dee, Ryan Elias, Ken Owens, Leon Brown, WillGriff John, Dillon Lewis, Jake Ball, Adam Beard, Seb Davies, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Will Rowlands, Cory Hill, Aaron Shingler, Aaron Wainwright, Taulupe Faletau, Ross Moriarty, Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric

Backs: Gareth Davies, Rhys Webb, Tomos Williams, Dan Biggar, Owen Williams, Jarrod Evans, Hadleigh Parkes, Nick Tompkins, Owen Watkin, George North, Josh Adams, Johnny McNicholl, Louis Rees-Zammit, Jonah Holmes, Leigh Halfpenny, Liam Williams

Italy:

Forwards: Luca Bigi, Dean Budd, Niccolò Cannone, Pietro Ceccarelli, Oliviero Fabiani, Danilo Fischetti, Marco Lazzaroni, Giovanni Licata, Andrea Lovotti, Johan Meyer, Sebastian Negri, Jake Polledri, Marco Riccioni, Federico Ruzza, David Sisi, Abraham Steyn, Federico Zani, Alessandro Zanni, Giosuè Zilocchi

Backs: Tomasso Allan, Mattia Bellini, Tommaso Benvenuti, Michelangelo Biondelli, Giulio Bisegni, Tommaso Boni, Callum Braley, Carlo Canna, Jayden Hayward, Matteo Minozzi, Luca Morisi, Edoardo Padovani, Guglielmo Palazzani, Leonardo Sarto, Alberto Sgarbi, Marcello Violi

Quotes:

“Our very, very simple goals fellas, Is that we’re here to win the Championship – this fantastic trophy here," Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.

“In the squad we have a mix of experienced and young players who want to establish themselves on the international rugby scene,” Italy head coach Franco Smith.