Two sides looking for a first win in this year’s championship meet in Rome
Watch Italy v Wales as the second weekend of the 2025 Six Nations kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday 8 February. We’ve got all the information you need to follow the action as it happens, whether you’re watching on TV or online.
Wales haven’t lost in Rome since 2007 but with Warren Gatland’s side on a record-breaking run of 13 consecutive defeats, the Azzurri (a place ahead of today’s opponents in the world rankings) will believe they can secure a win.
The match kicks off at 2.15pm GMT / 3.15pm CET on a wet and breezy afternoon in Rome, and you can watch Italy v Wales for free in several countries, including the UK and Italy. Wherever you’re planning on watching the game this weekend, this guide has got you covered.
Key information
– Italy v Wales date: Saturday 8 February 2025
– Italy v Wales kick-off time: 3.15pm local (CET) / 2.15pm GMT / 9.15am ET / 4.15pm SAST / 1.15am AEDT (Sunday)
– Italy v Wales venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
– Italy v Wales on TV: ITV1, Virgin Media One, France 2, TV8
– Italy v Wales streams: ITVX (free), Virgin Media Play (free), FranceTV (free), TV8 (free)
– Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk-free
How to watch Italy v Wales in the UK – free Six Nations live stream
Fans in the UK can watch Wales in action against Italy on ITV. Every championship game is free-to-air in the UK, with Six Nations TV coverage shared between the BBC and ITV.
All of Italy’s home games are available on ITV, so you can tune into today’s game on terrestrial channel ITV1 and streaming platform ITVX. The service is free to use with a simple registration, though don’t forget about your UK TV Licence, which is still a requirement even when it comes to streaming live TV.
Coverage starts at 1.30pm GMT ahead of the 2.15pm GMT kick-off.
How to watch Italy v Wales from abroad
If you’re going to be overseas when the game kicks off today, you may be worried about missing the game – especially as most streaming services are geo-restricted. Luckily, there is a way you can tackle this problem and it’s called a VPN.
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a handy piece of software that let’s you change your device’s IP address. This can make your computer, smartphone or tablet appear to be in a different country, allowing you to unblock geo-restricted feeds and enjoy your usual streaming service as if you were back in your home country. VPNs are also great for your internet security and privacy, making them a win all round.
Our expert office-mates at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPNs, and they reckon the best is NordVPN. Better still, it’s available for a massive discount during the Six Nations.
How to watch Italy v Wales in Ireland
In Ireland, you can watch Italy v Wales through Virgin Media. As in the UK, fans in Ireland enjoy every Six Nations game for free, with coverage split between Virgin Media and RTÉ.
If you’re watching on terrestrial TV you can catch Italy v Wales on Virgin Media One, while streamers can follow the action on Virgin Media Play. It’s available as a streaming app or simply an in-browser player with no sign-up required.
Coverage starts at 1.30pm ahead of the 2.15pm kick-off.
How to watch Italy v Wales in Italy
While most Six Nations games are trapped behind a paywall in Italy, games featuring the national side – including Italy v Wales – are available for free via the TV8 service.
How to watch Italy v Wales in France
Free-to-air public broadcaster France Télévisions has the rights to every Six Nations game. This match will be on terrestrial channel France 2, with an Italy v Wales live stream available on the FranceTV platform, which is also free to use.
Coverage starts at 3.05pm CET ahead of the 3.15pm CET kick-off.
Italy v Wales: Other global streams
USA: Fans in the USA van watch Italy v Wales on Peacock. The NBC streaming platform costs $7.99 a month but there’s currently a deal for a whole year for $29.99.
Australia: Rugby fans down under can watch Italy v Wales on Stan Sport. Packages cost $15 per month on top of a base Stan subscription of $12.
New Zealand: In New Zealand, Italy v Wales is on Sky Sport. That’s on satellite TV, or a streaming sub will set you back $49.99 a month.
South Africa: Supersport is, as ever, the place to go for fans in South Africa to watch Italy v Wales.
- For a full list of global broadcasters, check out our full guide on how to watch Six Nations 2025.
Italy v Wales: match preview
For many years, Wales would have seen a trip to Rome as a banker. From 2008 through to 2021, the men in red beat the Azzurri every time they played – home and away – but since a shock, last-minute defeat in Cardiff in 2022, the balance of power has shifted. Now Italy head into this year’s encounter as favourites, and it’s not just because the visitors are in the international rugby doldrums.
Italy have been steadily improving in recent years, as head coach Gonzalo Quesada – building on solid work from his predecessor, Kieran Crowley – has built his side around some exceptional young talent. In last year’s Six Nations Quesada guided his team to a best-ever performance of two wins (against Wales and Scotland) and a draw (against France). That this return was only enough to deliver a fifth-place finish was extremely unlucky.
While the side hasn’t quite kicked on since then – results in the Autumn Nations Series were disappointing – Italy are capable of creating problems for most of the world’s best teams. And while they only managed a solitary intercept try against Scotland in Edinburgh last weekend, the fact they kept the scoreboard ticking over with penalties shows they have the doggedness to keep themselves in the fight. Besides, any attack that can boast the talents of Ange Capuozzo, Monty Ioane, the centre paring of Juan Ignacio Brex and Tomasso Menoncello (2024 Six Nations player of the tournament) and fly-half Paolo Garbisi is more than capable of testing a Wales defence that shipped 43 unanswered points to France last weekend – if the Azzurri can get their heads around the novelty of that favourites tag.
- Read more: Who has won the Six Nations championship?
Warren Gatland’s young side will see this game as their best chance of avoiding a second consecutive Wooden Spoon. But, coming into the game on the back of a record-breaking 13 consecutive defeats, they’re going to be low on confidence, especially after Antoine Dupont and his talented teammates gave them a rugby education in the Stade de France.
In the positives column, Wales can point to the fact they haven’t lost in Rome since 2007, and that they’re welcoming back Taulupe Faletau for the first time since the 2023 World Cup. As one of the last men standing from the great Gatland sides that reached World Cup semi-finals and won multiple championships, the British & Irish Lions number 8 will be looked on to inspire the inexperienced players around him.
But will it be enough? While Faletau, Liam Williams, Tomos Williams and Josh Adams have experienced glory in that famous red shirt, many of Gatland’s players don’t know what it’s like to win at international level. There was no shortage of effort against France – especially from Wales rugby captain Jac Morgan, who remains in Lions contention despite playing for a struggling side – but they lacked a cutting edge. The Azzurri are nowhere near the level of championship favourites France, but Wales will still need to raise their game to beat them.
Watch more Six Nations action today:
Italy v Wales: teams
Gonzalo Quesada has made just one change to the line-up that started against Scotland last weekend, with Niccolò Cannone replacing Dino Lamb in the second row. Lamb is one of six forwards on the bench (Quesada has opted for a 6-2 split), where back Jacopo Trulla comes in for Simone Gesi.
Wales have also kept faith with most of the players who lost their opening fixture against France. The talismanic Taulupe Faletau starts at number 8 for the first time since October 2023, with Aaron Wainwright (who suffered a nasty facial injury in Paris) dropping to the bench. The 22-year-old Eddie James replaces the injured Owen Watkin at inside centre.
Wales have been forced to make further changes just ahead of kick-off. Blair Murray replaces Liam Williams at full-back, with Freddie Thomas coming in for Dafydd Jenkins in the second row Josh Hathaway and Teddy Williams are drafted onto the bench.
ITALY
15. Tommaso Allan
14. Ange Capuozzo
13. Juan Ignacio Brex
12. Tommaso Menoncello
11. Monty Ioane
10. Paolo Garbisi
9. Martin Page-Relo
1. Danilo Fischetti
2. Giacomo Nicotera
3. Simone Ferrari
4. Niccolò Cannone
5. Federico Ruzza
6. Sebastian Negri
7. Michele Lamaro (captain)
8. Lorenzo Cannone
Replacements:
16. Gianmarco Lucchesi
17. Luca Rizzoli
18. Marco Riccioni
19. Dino Lamb
20. Manuel Zuliani
21. Ross Vintcent
22. Alessandro Garbisi
23. Jacopo Trulla
WALES
15. Blair Murray
14. Tom Rogers
13. Nick Tompkins
12. Eddie James
11. Josh Adams
10. Ben Thomas
9. Tomos Williams
1. Gareth Thomas
2. Evan Lloyd
3. Henry Thomas
4. Will Rowlands
5. Freddie Thomas
6. James Botham
7. Jac Morgan (captain)
8. Taulupe Faletau
Replacements:
16. Elliot Dee
17. Nicky Smith
18. Keiron Assiratti
19. Teddy Williams
20. Aaron Wainwright
21. Rhodri Williams
22. Dan Edwards
23. Josh Hathaway
The Six Nations referee for Italy v Wales is Matthew Carley of England. He’ll be assisted by Paul Williams of New Zealand and Sam Grove-White of Scotland. France’s Eric Gauzins is the TMO.
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