Wales v Italy, Six Nations, March 20
Italy eye Wales upset
John Griffiths
Tom Shanklin scored the winner against Italy in 2009
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This weekend's Six Nations clash between Wales and Italy at the Millennium Stadium will be the 17th Test meeting between the two sides. An Italian victory would equal their best return of two Championship victories in a season while Wales are in desperate need of ending their tournament on a high. Last season saw Wales make a number of changes for their trip to Rome, with replacement Tom Shanklin's try sparing their blushes and sealing a 20-15 win. Wales lead the all-time series, that began in 1994, by 13 wins to two and there was a draw at Cardiff in 2006. Wales set the records for the highest score, biggest winning margin and most tries in the series with their 60-21 win in Treviso in 1999 when they scored seven tries. They equalled the margin in their 47-8 Cardiff win on their way to a Grand Slam in 2008. The best Italian performance of the series was in the 2003 Six Nations when they defeated Wales for the first time - 30-22 in Rome, scoring three tries. The highest individual contribution to a match in the series is 30 points by Neil Jenkins in the friendly played in Treviso in 1999. Diego Dominguez scored 18 (five penalty goals and a dropped goal) to establish the Italian record in Rome in 2001. Gareth Thomas created the record for most tries in a match. He crossed four times for Wales in Treviso in 1999. No Italian player has scored more than one try in a match. Thomas shares the Welsh record for most tries in the series with Shane Williams on eight. Neil Jenkins is the leading points scorer with 128 for Wales in his six appearances between 1994 and 2001. Diego Dominguez, who appeared in eight of the matches, holds the Italian scoring record with 112 points. The late Ivan Francescato and Carlo Checchinato, the current Italian team manager, each scored two tries in the matches. Alessandro Troncon and Martyn Williams made most appearances in the matches playing 11 times each.
Italy v Wales Six Nations results:
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