CARDIFF, 28 March 2004 — Wales ran in six tries, including two each for wingers Shane and Rhys Williams, as their backline tore Italy to shreds in a 44-10 victory in the Six Nations championship yesterday.
Against a disorganized Italian side, Wales gave coach Steve Hansen a glorious send-off in his final game in charge.
Fullback Gareth Thomas broke the Welsh try-scoring record with his 34th in his 77th international, beating the mark of former winger Ieuan Evans.
“It doesn’t get much better than that, it was a good way to finish,” said Hansen who is returning to his native New Zealand to help coach the All Blacks.
“They (Wales) really played well and scored some great tries. To play as well as we did today was pretty satisfying.”
Wales finish the championship with four points, after also beating Scotland 23-10, and Italy with two for a 20-14 defeat of Scotland.
Left wing Shane Williams scored a try in each half as did right wing Rhys Williams while replacement Tom Shanklin crossed within seconds of coming on in the second half. Flyhalf Stephen Jones kicked four conversions and two penalties.
Wales, who tested world champions England before going down 31-21 a week ago, ran the ball with conviction and their handling left Italy chasing shadows for most of the game.
Italy, 16-0 down at halftime, matched the home side only early in the second half when centre Andrea Masi muscled over the Welsh line.
Italy showed early promise before being cut open by a series of scything Welsh moves. Wales captain and flanker Colin Charvis was in storming form and the Welsh backs oozed confidence, scoring two tries in the first 40 minutes and wasting a third.
Jones kicked two penalties before Shane Williams squirmed over the line to score with two men free outside him screaming for the ball.
The Italian defense was breached again by Rhys Williams when scrumhalf Gareth Cooper combined with fullback Thomas down the blindside to put the right wing over in the corner.
Fiji Stunned as England and New Zealand March On
Fiji suffered a shock 14-12 defeat to Canada as Hong Kong Sevens favorites England and New Zealand marched into the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Sevens yesterday.
The Fijians, chasing a record 11th victory in the tournament, were sent spinning to their first ever defeat against the Canadians after a late second-half try from Chris Strubin.
Canada’s defense came under fierce pressure in a nerve-jangling final few minutes but held firm to seal a famous victory in front of a raucous crowd at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium.
England, who are aiming for a hat-trick of Hong Kong Sevens titles, displayed slick handling and scintillating running to dispatch Scotland 38-12 before easing past Georgia 42-0 in Pool B.
New Zealand meanwhile, completed routine victories against the United States and Italy to advance to a quarterfinal meeting with Samoa.
The New Zealanders, who are top of this season’s International Rugby Board World Sevens Series, dispatched the US Eagles 38-7 before moving up a notch to overwhelm the Italians 52-0.
Victory over Italy included a try from Eric Rush, the remarkable 39-year-old legend of seven-a-side rugby who is making his 15th appearance in the Hong Kong event.
In other matches yesterday, South Africa were made to sweat by African rivals Kenya before eventually winning 24-12 to top Pool C.
The South Africans now face Australia in the last eight, who won Pool F with wins over Taiwan and Samoa.
