But Mr Moffett also warned of the widening gap between the top five teams in the world and the chasing pack in which Wales currently finds itself.
“There was much to be proud of in the Welsh performance against Italy. We smashed their much heralded pack, defended superbly and scored three tries,” said Mr Moffett.
“But what we in Wales, and the other Celtic nations, have to do now is ensure we make the Celtic League work to improve our standards so we can try to close the gap on the top five teams in the world game.
“We really are in the last chance saloon because the ‘Big Five’ have opened up the gap on the rest. We are just about in the next group of six teams behind England, France, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, and we have to make sure the gap doesn’t get any wider.
“We need to find ways of bridging the gap because it is too big at the moment. One of the problems with this World Cup is that we have professional rugby players playing against amateur, which has led to some miss matches.
“What’s very important for us in the next four years is to get regional rugby right. Things aren’t 100% right on the field, and there are many things wrong with it off the field, but the long term view is that if Wales is ever going to bridge the gap and break into the top tier of the world game we need regional rugby to succeed and we need a strong Celtic League.
“It might take two or three years, but I’m absolutely confident that the Celtic League is the way forward for us. There have been some good games, but generally it has been a mixed bag with the star names away at the World Cup.
“But what has been very encouraging is how the Premier League has taken off. There have been some very good games and people are realising that this is where the next group of professional players are going to come from.”
