If Rome wasn’t built in a day, Warren Gatland can argue that a Wales rebuild is no short-term affair, either.
But his players showed character to confound the expectations of plenty in the Italian capital. Wales had lost 12 out of 15 games while Italy had been playing well.
A lot were prepared to suggest Gatland’s team would come out second best at Stadio Olimpico, then, and go on to a Six Nations whitewash for the first time in 20 years.
