International rugby returns to the Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday when Wales’ stars of the future attempt to make it back-to-back victories after Wednesday’s 36-28 triumph over Ireland.
They face an Italy side who were cruelly denied against the Irish at Ystrad Mynach before bouncing back to stun England 32-30 in round two. And Horsman reckons the Azzuri’s age-grade progress makes them a force to be reckoned with.
He said: “We’ll make wholesale changes to the team for Italy, I want everyone to get as much game time as possible. We want to finish on a high, Italy have come on leaps and bounds with their age-grade – we found that out with the Under-20s this year.
“They look like one of, if not the best team in this competition this year and that’s a great credit to their coaches. Italy will be a great challenge for our boys, I want them to enjoy this win and spend some good time with their families, soak in the experience and then move forward to Italy.”
A bumper crowd were not left disappointed when they came to watch Wales score six tries against Ireland. The Italy clash will be their fifth game together as a squad, and Horsman has been impressed with how far they have come in a short space of time.
He added: “The boys come a huge way as a group since that first game together up at Scotland. This camp was about creating an environment where the players are self-driven and coming up with solutions and they’re really starting to do that now.
“We have these three games and 10 days to make sure everyone gets an equal amount of development. I’m a great believer in not singling anyone out but there are a lot of talented guys and the most important thing is for them to recognise the importance of hard work.”
