The Welsh side, who could become the first team to win the tournament outright three years in a row, were never able to fully silence their Italian opponents

Under the roof of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the defending double champions made a bright start.

Alex Cuthbert exposed some shaky defending by the Italians to score a try in the third minute of the game - which was converted by kicker Leigh Halfpenny.

After the Italians were denied a try because of a knock-on, their opponents extended their lead to 17-3 thanks a try by Scott Williams.

Wales' 14-point halftime lead did not last long, when Italy's Michele Campagnaro scored his side's first try of the encounter after the video referee was called into action to decide if there was a forward pass in the play.

Tommaso Allan came up short in his efforts to convert the try.

Leigh Halfpenny's kicking helped keep Wales at arms length from Italy ©Getty Images



Italy were right in the game when Campagnaro intercepted Halfpenny's pass, and sprinted to the try line to make it 20-15.

But Wales hung on to win the match 23-15 in front of a jubilant home crowd.

The tournament has most recently been won four times in a row by France between 1986 and 1989, under its former guise as the Five Nations.

But two of those four wins were shared.

The Six Nations was established in 2000, and features England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

The tournament was founded in 1883 as the Home Nations.

France host England in Paris in the late kick-off this evening.

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