The result condemns Wales to their first wooden spoon in 21 years, having lost all five of their matches at this year’s competition.
Italy would be the better of the two sides on the day to show their growing progression in World Rugby having triumphed against Scotland and drawn against France.
A try from wing Monty Ioane set the tone in the first half which Wales struggled to get going, whilst two Paulo Garbisi penalties gave the Azzurri an 11-0 half-time lead.
Full-back Lorenzo Pani added a brilliant score after the break with Garbisi and Martin Page-Relo kicking penalties as the Italians were the more clinical of the two sides.
Wales mounted a late comeback to soften the scoreline with hooker Elliot Dee and replacements Will Rowlands and Mason Grady going over to give the score some respectability. It would be, however, a below-par performance from the Welsh who would be well-beaten despite the flattering three-point losing margin.
Asked whether he wanted to guide Wales through to the 2027 World Cup, Gatland replied: “Yes, absolutely. I’ve made that commitment.”
“I just said to Abi [Tierney] in the changing room if you want me to resign, I’m quite happy to do that.
“She said ‘like hell, that’s the last thing I want, that’s what I’m really afraid of’.
“I can promise you we will go away and review this really carefully. We’ve already done some review stuff and will work on areas that need to improve.”
Gatland despite the comments still feels he is the right man for the job despite losing 12 of the 13 matches in the Six Nations since the return for his second spell in chance at the end of 2022.
“Absolutely. I’ve never shied away from that,” continued Gatland.
“We’ve had glimpses when we’ve been really good in this tournament. We need to do that for longer periods.
“We’re hurting as coaches and players. I know the fans are hurting too. It doesn’t help, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel because we’ve got a fantastic group of guys who I know have worked hard.
“There is a huge amount of inexperience, who haven’t played a lot of regional rugby and we’re exposing them at the Test level.
“It’s a real challenge, I said to the players in the changing room that when they turn up for the summer tour, make sure they’re doing their extras and work-ons conditioning-wise, the gym work and that they’re ready to go.
“This rebuild isn’t harder than we thought. We knew the inexperience we had in the squad and the players we asked to step up to leadership roles.
“It’s about taking the good out of the games and showing what we need to do.”
[Lead image: Welsh Rugby Union]
