Serious-looking leg injuries to backline stars Rhys Webb and Leigh Halfpenny in a ragged 23-19 win over Italy had Wales worried on Saturday, two weeks out from the Rugby World Cup.
Both were carried off on carts, stunning the crowd of nearly 53,000 at Millennium Stadium. The loss of either player would deal a serious blow to Wales' hopes at the World Cup.
Webb's cry of anguish midway through the first half was picked up on referee George Clancy's microphone. The scrumhalf was trying to grab the ball in a ruck, then his left leg became trapped and buckled under the weight of players.
About 10 minutes from the end, fullback Halfpenny slipped trying to pick up loose ball, and hurt his right knee.
Webb was taken to hospital to be scanned, and coach Warren Gatland didn't believe Webb had broken anything, while he added Halfpenny will be scanned on Sunday or Monday.
"Fingers crossed for the scan results on Monday," captain Sam Warburton said. "I'm going to be very optimistic until I hear otherwise."
The injuries took the spotlight from a match which brought Wales back to earth following the win over Ireland in Dublin last weekend, while raising Italy's confidence after a 48-7 loss to Scotland at Edinburgh on the same day.
Italy scored tries at the start and end of the match, and its defence limited Wales to just one, in the 15th minute.
Wales, wearing its black away kit, played with plenty of verve and dominated the attack, but Italy's one-on-one tackling was superb, forcing knockons and turnovers.
Italy's scrum was also better, earning a handful of penalties from the Welsh pack. But the tide of the Welsh attack earned the home side penalties from which Halfpenny kicked five, including the four after halftime which lifted Wales from 11-8 behind to a safe 20-14 ahead.
"We're not happy, and players need to look at their own performance," Gatland said. "Sometimes it's about winning ugly, you get frustrated, get a result, and you don't look at it too much.
"What we're good at is putting those things behind us and not letting any negativity get to us. The message tomorrow is not to read the newspapers."
Italy changed half of its side after the embarrassment at Murrayfield, and recalled captain and No. 8 Sergio Parisse.
Parisse made his mark in the second minute, intercepting Wales winger Alex Cuthbert, almost sprinting the whole field, and watching winger Leonardo Sarto finish off.
Midfielder Scott Williams, in outstanding form, started the Welsh try with a break, and set it up the other way with a cut-out pass to unmarked winger George North.
Most of the rest of the scoring came from penalties, until Italy had the last say through replacement midfielder Guglielmo Palazzani's last-minute try.
"We had a very good day from a psychological point of view," Parisse said. "It would have been terrible to enter the World Cup after last week, but thankfully we had today.
"We lose, so I can't be happy, but I'm really happy that all my players gave everything. Teams must know that if they don't play their best they can lose to Italy."
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