Italy came out on top in Cardiff to round out their best-ever Six Nations campaign and resign Wales to the wooden spoon after a miserable tournament.
Though the margin at full-time was only three points, the reality of the game was far removed from that scoreline. Italy were comfortably the better team throughout, and two late tries from Wales changed the complexion of what had been a dominant win from start to finish for the Azzurri.
It has been a tournament to remember for Italy, but the same cannot be said of Wales, who end the tournament with five defeats from five and rooted to the bottom of the table.
Frustrations appeared to spill over at the Principality Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as one tense first-half incident saw Mathieu Raynal issue a stern warning to Wales coach Neil Jenkins after he overstepped when entering the pitch as a water boy.
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Wales v Italy: Ref mic picks up prickly interaction between Raynal and Jenkins
During a break in play midway through the first period, Jenkins entered the field and made a beeline to referee Raynal.
Jenkins raised issue with what he alleged was a dangerous high tackle from Italian scrum-half Luke Varney. In an awkward and bizarre interaction, Jenkins then appeared to question Raynal's ability to ref the game, leading the French referee to make clear how unimpressed he was with the Welshman's conduct.
A clip of the exchange between Mathieu Raynal and Neil Jenkins.
Not on.#GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/eIvqLA2XaS— Tight Five Rugby (@TightFive_Rugby) March 16, 2024
The interaction in full is transcribed below.
Jenkins: High tackle?
Raynal: Your job is to bring the water.
Jenkins: Your job is to ref the game!
Raynal: Your job is to bring the water on only. Come here. This is the second time you've talked to me, I don't accept that.
Jenkins: Blue nine! High tackle!
Raynal: Come here now. That is the last time. Next time you cannot enter on the field, you understand?
Jenkins, an assistant coach in Warren Gatland's team, is not the first coach to operate as a water boy to access the field of play, but this incident was unlike any we have seen in the past.
With such strict rules governing which players on the pitch can speak to the referee, a member of the coaching team entering the pitch to harrass the referee and question his authority on the pitch is a truly shocking incident. One could argue that Raynal may even have been too kind in shutting down the former fly-half.
Wales' late game surge was not enough to avoid a fifth defeat of the tournament, and they finish with the wooden spoon for the first time since 2003.
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