The only change to the match day twenty-two comes on the bench, Ryan Jones ruled out with a shoulder injury and is replaced by lock Ian Gough on the bench. Gough will provide cover for the second row with the versatile Jonathan Thomas able to come on in either the back or second row.
“We have been striving for a level of continuity with this side from the start and it is a good feeling to be able to ask the same personnel to just go out there and do it again,” said Ruddock. “We have obviously taken the victory against the Rugby World Champions in good spirits, but we also know we did not play to the very highest standards of which we know we are capable.
“Therefore, we are looking for an improvement in our all round game against Italy. They beat us in Rome two years ago in this fixture and we will need to continue with a professional attitude to the match if we are to ensure that does not happen again. The Italians probably put in the best performance of the first round to take the Irish all the way and they will have targeted our match as one they believe they can win.
“We know what we have to do and will be looking to play the exciting brand of rugby that we all know we are capable of – and begin to string some wins together on the back of a very satisfying victory over England. We have not just taken the easy option to name the same side, there was plenty of debate about it and we went through our options with a fine tooth comb.
“We are confident that we have made the right selection but if we need to we have a good bench and we can change things around if we see fit. Ian Gough has come in on the bench because we felt we needed to cover front line-out jumper as Brent Cockbain did pick up a slight knock against England and because John the middle jumper position. Goughie is a good physical player and his line-out ability and strong tackling game could come in useful.
“We are sticking with Stephen Jones as our number one kicker, with Gavin Henson there for back-up and also with the option to strike from longer range, however, I have had a man to man chat with Stephen and he knows he has to improve his strike rate. Michael Owen will continue to assist Gareth (Thomas) from a leadership point of view in the vice-captain’s role.”
Gough last played for Wales in the match against Romania on 27 August 2003 when Ruddock was acting coach between matches against England (23 August) and Scotland (30 August) in World Cup warm-up games. Wales beat Romania 54-8 in Wrexham to end 11-match losing run.
This will be Ruddock’s tenth capped match (not counting the clash with the Barbarians) in charge. His record so far is 5-4 with wins against Romania, Argentina (twice), Japan and England, and defeats to South Africa (twice), Argentina and New Zealand.
