In 2022, I captained Wales in my 100th cap against Italy in Cardiff.
Alun Wyn Jones made his 150th Test appearance for his country on the same day. It was supposed to be a celebration. It turned into a nightmare.
Looking back now, there was too much talk about my and Alun Wyn’s milestone games. I’m not sure we were as focused as we should have been on the task at hand.
We pay the price. Italy fully deserved to win.
Two years later, they will arrive at Principality Stadium once again with much attention on George North after he announced the game will be his last.
Dan Biggar captained Wales in his 100th cap, but the match did not go to plan.
Paolo Garbisi’s conversion on Edoardo Padovani’s try sealed the victory on the last kick.
George will retire from international rugby after the match. Both George and Warren Gatland have already said they don’t want his departure to distract from the job at hand.
That was a good message because as soon as I heard about George’s retirement, I wondered if the news would make the team lose focus.
George has been a truly incredible player for Wales, one of the best in the country’s history. I was lucky to play alongside him for so long and admire what he could do.
All I had to do was give him the ball and then I could sit back and watch!
I wish him all the best in his last game.
But I hope this Wales team doesn’t make the same mistakes as us in 2022. They have to beat Italy.
If they don’t, Wales will finish bottom of the Six Nations table for the first time since 2003.
This would be really difficult for everyone in Welsh rugby to accept.
George North to retire from national team after Wales’ clash with Italy on Saturday
The last time they were in Cardiff, Italy handed the Welsh team a humiliating defeat by one point. Paolo Garbisi’s conversion of Edoardo Padovani’s try on the last kick of the match sealed a famous Azzurri victory. It was a really low moment in my career. Paolo was my counterpart. We both got drunk in Cardiff that night, but for very different reasons!
Paolo and I won’t face each other this weekend, but we are now teammates in Toulon and it was great to meet him this week to look ahead to ‘Super Saturday’.
I had to remind him how helpful I was to him and his team on my 100th cap!
‘We knew during the week that it was his 100th and Alun Wyn’s 150th. Our intention was to try to have our own party. We knew that it was a great event for you,” Paolo told me, remembering the year 2022.
‘Two years ago we had not won in 36 championship games in seven years. That’s why it was so special. And we’ve never won in Cardiff before!
‘We’re excited to get back there again. I know the people there will support Wales 100 per cent. Honestly, I didn’t want George to announce his retirement because now the Welsh boys are going to be even more motivated. We need to take this into account and not be surprised at the start of the game by the pace, physicality and intensity that Wales are going to put in.
‘George is an incredible player. Everything he’s done over the last decade he tells you. I hope we can defend it properly. It’s going to be a very, very crazy atmosphere.
“If we can control our emotions, we will have a chance.”
Wales have lost all four of their matches so far this year. When you run like that, the pressure increases. And Italy will be full of confidence. I thought they were impressive in their win over Scotland last weekend. There is a better balance to his game under new coach Gonzalo Quesada.
Biggar and Garbisi are teammates in Toulon two years after Italy’s victory over Wales
“I saw you’ve interviewed Siya Kolisi and Jonny Wilkinson,” Paolo said.
‘What am I doing here?! Of course we are very happy with what happened last weekend. It was different to Cardiff in 2022: two different types of joy.
“I think we deserved the win. It was the first time we played at home in front of a sold-out stadium in 10 years. Now we go straight back to work. It’s going to be a tough challenge with Wales.
‘We need to move on to the next game quickly and concentrate, otherwise we will be fired up! If we manage to win in Cardiff, which I hope of course, it would be the best Six Nations in our history. We have had two wins in the past, but not two wins and a draw.
‘It would be very important for the fans. Winning helps increase interest in rugby in Italy. It’s something we need. We’re not as popular as I think we should or could be.
“Hopefully we can continue doing good things. We drew with France and beat Scotland. It showed that we can perform at a decent level, so there is no reason why we can’t do it again.
‘Otherwise, we will simply be a losing team. We need to find coherence.”
There’s a brilliant underground nightclub in Rome called Art Café. I have celebrated some Welsh victories there myself! Paolo didn’t confirm or deny whether the Italy boys went there last weekend after beating Scotland, but I think I know the answer! In my opinion, Italy seems dangerous.
Last year they probably attacked too much and in the wrong areas of the field. But Quesada seems to have brought more pragmatism to his game. As number 10, Paolo executes his game plan.
I hope Wales don’t make the same mistakes as us in 2022 or they will finish last in the Six Nations table.
“Last year we were well known for our attacking ability,” he told me. “But our problem was that we overplayed it too many times. What has changed the most for us is that we have been able to find a balance between knowing when to play and when to kick. At this level, the kicking game is hugely important, as you know, Dan. “Of course we need to improve, but we are on the right path.”
Two years ago, the sun was shining for Italy in Cardiff and the roof of the Principality Stadium was open. It was the best weather we had had in Wales in March in years!
But my mood was somber when the final whistle came. I will never forget the raw emotion on Paolo’s face when he scored the winning shot.
When they were fighting to win, people questioned Italy’s place in the Six Nations. They put an end to it this year. Italian rugby seems to have a good plan.
His under-20 team is doing well. Even the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, was in the team locker room celebrating Scotland’s victory!
“It’s crazy how things have changed so quickly after the World Cup,” Paolo said. “In the World Cup it was very, very hard. In the last two games we have conceded 156 points.
‘Being where we are now is a big change. The mistake we have made in the last 10 or 15 years is that we were happy with just one win or being close to other teams.
‘We need to continue raising the bar and improving. “We can’t be happy with just winning a game.”
Paolo hasn’t had it easy in his last two games. He has seen the ball drop off his tee against France and Scotland and then had to take shots on goal. As a kicker, I know it’s a nightmare scenario. If his shot against France had not hit the post, Italy would have achieved another famous victory.
Garbisi has had a difficult time in his last two games but I have seen how good he is in Toulon
“When it happened again against Scotland, people asked me why I was laughing,” Paolo said.
‘What else was I supposed to do? It was like someone was knocking the ball off my tee on purpose!
“To be honest, I couldn’t believe it. I’ll have the Cardiff roof closed for my kicking tee! Wales, for as long as I can remember, has always shown team spirit and fight. Is incredible.
“In their game against Scotland, to be honest, no team in the world could have done something like that. Wales never let you go. That’s something to admire. It’s going to be very hard for us.”
Paolo and I already trained and kicked together in Toulon, so I’ve seen how good he is. I’ll have to get used to collecting balls for him and being his substitute!
But it’s great to have him with us and hopefully we can share great memories together. The coffees are on me for him to do this interview!
I hope they do well against Wales but I hope my old team wins. If it’s another Italian victory, I’m sure they’ll celebrate a lot, although Paolo might find his stuff in the car park when he gets back to Toulon! There is no Art Café in Cardiff for Italian players to go to. Tiger Tiger used to be our destination nightclub when we won Grand Slams.
I’m not sure where kids go nowadays!
“Some people asked me why I was going to Toulon when you were already there,” Paolo told me.
‘That’s exactly why I am! It was the same reason I went to Montpellier when Handré Pollard was there. I am very excited. You had over 100 caps for Wales and two Lions tours.
‘My mantra is to be an open book. The TOP14 is a long season. It can only be positive.”