TAULUPE FALETAU and Justin Tipuric’s magic got Wales and Wayne Pivac out of jail.
The experienced back-row pair were the game’s outstanding performers as Italy were eventually put to bed at Parc y Scarlets.
Wales have had an awful Autumn Nations Cup campaign and at one point in the second half it looked like they would reach a new nadir with a first loss to Italy since 2007.
But guided by Faletau and Tipuric, Wales came out on top to finish fifth.
Tries came from Kieran Hardy, Sam Parry, Gareth Davies, George North and Tipuric.
The boot of Bristol’s Callum Sheedy added gloss to the scoreline.
It means under pressure boss Pivac has kept the wolf from the door – for now at least.
The 2021 Six Nations will be his acid test and Wales will have to improve tenfold to trouble the likes of Eddie Jones’ England.
Italy – who scored through Marco Zanon and Johan Meyer – even went ahead at one point in the second half.
But the Azzurri are masters at shooting themselves in the foot and they will end 2020 without a win.
Pivac has maintained the Autumn Nations Cup – a tournament which has never really got going – was the time to experiment with the seedings for the 2023 World Cup set in stone.
He has looked at the next generation, handing out eight new caps this autumn.
Rookies Louis Rees-Zammit, Sheedy, Hardy and James Botham all started here.
North returned to the side for only his sixth start in the outside centre position while the experienced Jonathan Davies came in as a late replacement to join him in midfield.
Davies stepped in for Scarlets team-mate Johnny Williams who suffered a hamstring injury in training on Friday.
Italy included Pembrokeshire-born scrum-half and fluent Welsh speaker Stephen Varney, 19.
Varney qualifies for the Italians through his mother Valeria and was certainly keen to prove a point.
Wales had a shocker of a start on a brisk Llanelli evening.
They conceded three early penalties and North was one guilty party, but he was not supported by his team-mates after claiming an impressive high ball.
Breakdown and line-out problems have characterised Wales’ autumn campaign and hooker Parry’s first throw on his first start didn’t hit its intended target.
Wales’ opening score was made by Tipuric.
After receiving the ball from his brilliant colleague Faletau, Tipuric ran a great line straight through the midfield.
Tipuric sold the covering Italian defence a wonderful dummy and had scrum-half Hardy in support to finish. Sheedy kicked the conversion, but it was a scrappy, frenetic opening 15 minutes.
The breakdown was a dog’s dinner, but Wales looked dangerous when they got the ball wide.
Rees-Zammit freed Liam Williams and it laid the platform for the second home try.
Parry was the scorer as he went over from close range for a try approved by TMO Pascal Gauzere. Full-back Williams suffered an ankle injury in the build-up to Parry’s effort and limped off to be replaced by Ioan Lloyd.
Faletau was everywhere with his ability to be direct as well as show dexterous footwork a joy to watch. The Bath No 8 was man of the match by a country mile.
Paolo Garbisi responded with an Italian penalty as Wales’ positive attacking intent was undone by eight first-half breakdown penalties which allowed their opposition possession.
Referee Wayne Barnes was not happy with Welsh tacklers not releasing Italian ball carriers and it allowed the Azzurri to hit back.
A neat kick through from Carlo Canna found no-one at home in the Welsh defence and Zanon was the man to benefit. Garbisi converted.
All of a sudden, Wales were in trouble.
They turned over the ball again and Italy broke clear led by Varney. Josh Adams tried to slow down the ball, but was yellow carded by Barnes and Garbisi kicked the resulting penalty.
Sheedy kicked a penalty at the start of the second half with his team still down to 14, but Italy cleverly exposed Wales’ numerical deficit.
They spread the ball to where Adams should have been, but Rees-Zammit jammed in when North told him not to and allowed Meyer to score.
Meyer tossed Lloyd aside like a ragdoll as he went over the line.
Pivac unloaded his bench in what looked like panic.
It worked, but it was Tipuric and Faletau who saved his blushes.
They combined again to send replacement scrum-half Davies to the line. Davies still had work to do and did well to finish.
Sheedy kicked the goal and although Wales lost captain Alun Wyn Jones to a knee injury – replacement hooker Elliot Dee had to come on – they did enough to hold on.
Aaron Wainwright shifted to lock to cover for Jones with Dee in an unusual flanker position.
North grabbed a deserved try following another barnstorming carry and Sheedy converted, but it was fitting the Faletau and Tipuric were the ones to put the game to bed.
A nice pass from Sheedy sent Faletau away and Tipuric claimed a fifth try.
