Yma o Hyd has become one of the many battle cries of Welsh defiance, Dafydd Iwan’s folk number penned during the troubled times of the 1970s and 80s and belted out on the picket lines during the miners’ strikes that followed. Translated, it means “Still Here” – in spite of everyone and everything, the pride and passion of a nation remains.
It is a sentiment that one feels on each and every visit to Cardiff, a sort of unsung refrain nonetheless in the ears on a stroll down St Mary Street or up into the Arcades. The city centre is compact and congested, particularly on the great Six Nations days; pour out of the taverns and into the Principality Stadium and you can be swept up in the swell of anticipation, carried along in the warbling warmth of a Welsh choir that will sing strongly again this weekend.
Wednesday marked an unwelcome three-year anniversary for Wales, now 15 matches removed from their last Six Nations success over Italy in Rome. One has felt that run take its toll – not just in performances but in the pockets of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), short of support in every sense at the moment amid a radical plan for the future of the game. The empty seats evident for the predictably one-sided defeat to France came despite a healthy band of travelling supporters, and sent a message of anger and apathy after all of the infighting that has characterised a period of off-field turmoil.
But maybe, just maybe, something is stirring again. One would take victory over valour but there was bravery, brawn and brains shown in defeats to Scotland and Ireland; now is surely the time to summon some old spirit and at last get over the line as Italy visit.
“I think the confidence is building,” head coach Steve Tandy emphasised. “They’re a connected group and they’re getting tighter and tighter. They know they just can’t get there by saying they’re ready.
“If we’re getting better, we’ll get closer. If you’re on the run we’ve been on, you probably do doubt a little bit. But I’ve seen in performances that we’re getting better. We need to catch up faster but the belief is growing.”
A sense of the strides made in this campaign can be seen in a settled selection. For the first time since the 2019 Rugby World Cup, just a single alteration is made to a Welsh matchday 23, with Blair Murray brought on to the bench. If part of Tandy’s job in this campaign was to determine the building blocks that would replace the firm foundations torn away in recent years, then that box can be ticked with a stable base rebuilt. From Rhys Carre – top of the props after his cavalier charge to the corner against Ireland – to centre Eddie James, Alex Mann to Ben Carter, plenty have come of age to suggest a brighter future out of the gloom.
The next step, surely, is to snap the streak.
“If we get the performance, the result will follow,” Tandy stressed. “I want both, if I’m honest. I believe in this group and I can see where we want to go in the distance, but I understand the here and now. The bounce of the ball might not always go your way, but you need to be consistent. If you’re in more games, results will follow.
“As a nation, we want both. You can get a win, but are you still growing? They should go hand in hand. There’s no one more desperate than us for a win. It becomes a habit. But you can’t cut corners to get there.”
In a way, there is inspiration to be sought by Wales from their final-round visitors. Not long ago, it would have been tough to consider anyone but Italy as the consistent occupiers of the Six Nations cutlery draw after eight wooden spoons in eight years and their own extended losing run, yet Gonzalo Quesada’s Azzurri can now chase a first campaign of three victories after making history against England.
A sign of their rise could be seen in their reaction to that success in Rome. Compare and contrast the scenes of exultation and emotion in Cardiff four years ago after Ange Capuozzo set up Edoardo Padovani for the match-winning try with the clear-eyed, calm manner in which Italy knocked off England and one can see how the perception of the side has changed as much internally as externally.
“We didn’t have the best performance of our lives, but we stuck together for the whole game and believed we could win,” captain Michele Lamaro told the BBC. “You have to change the mindset. We are used to being last and the underdog, but at the same time, we are building trust in each other, and that is what matters the most. We’ve got a massive challenge this week, because Wales are going to be very, very tough. This is part of the process now – we have got to back it up.” The loss of scrum titan Simone Ferrari is a blow to the Italian ranks, though the return of Marco Riccioni does compensate on the tighthead side.
A dogged and durable pack otherwise will be a test of Wales’s improving forward physicality, with a brutal breakdown battle looming. But there are weaknesses that Tandy and his staff will recognise, too – Italy’s profligacy in the opposition 22 has been a theme of the last two tournaments, and Wales are still here and still fighting.
“They’ve gone through tough times and they’re coming out of it now,” Tandy said of Italy. “That’s where I believe we can get to, becoming a fantastic rugby team. They beat England and Scotland. They’ve always been tough games. We’ve got the utmost respect for them and we know we need a better performance than against Ireland.”
