The Azzurri pushed Wales all the way at the Millennium Stadium with two tries from man of the match Michele Campagnaro setting up a tight finish. But the boot of Leigh Halfpenny guided Warren Gatland’s men home as they eventually ran out 23-15 winners.
First half scores from Alex Cuthbert and Scott Williams had put Wales 17-3 up at the break but in the second half, Italy came back into things. And North argues the tough test provided by Italy will help Wales as the RBS 6 Nations progresses.
“From our point of view, we wanted to start with a bit more flair than that but in the grand scheme of things, a win is a win,” said the Northampton wing.
“Italy put up a good fight and negated us very well in certain areas. Sometimes it is better to start with a bit of a rough ride and come out with a win to show the boys’ character.”
Wales now set their sights on a trip to Ireland this weekend with a short turnaround before the second round of fixtures.
“We were in the right places at the right times, we just weren’t as clinical as we were hoping to be,” said North.
“We have just got to tighten up. It is about trying to put a whole performance together, I don’t think we did that against Italy. We showed it in stages but for us, it is about making sure we are the best we can be next Saturday.”
Wales and Ireland have shared some tight encounters in the last few years. A late Halfpenny penalty gave Wales a 21-23 win in the last clash at the Aviva Stadium as Wales progressed to the Grand Slam in 2012.
“There have been some great games in the past between us – our last two encounters with Ireland have been quite special,” said North.
“We have an extra day to get over injuries, look at analysis and really push on again.”
