James Hook believes Wales’ two wins away from the Millennium Stadium show progress in the Welsh camp – but has urged more from his teammates with the win in Italy far from perfect.
Two first-half tries from Morgan Stoddart and Sam Warburton catapulted Warren Gatland’s side to a 24-16 win at Stadio Flaminio.
But it could have been far worse as Wales racked up 15 penalties against them and had some wayward kicking from Italian duo Mirco Bergamasco and Luciano Orquera to thank for the score not being any closer.
And despite this victory lifting them into second, versatile back Hook insists Wales need to tidy their game up ahead of the visit of Ireland on March 12.
“There were a couple of steps forward,” he said. “The performance wasn’t great, but it’s a win and two wins from two on the road is big for us – We can build on that.
“We expect more from ourselves, but the main thing was the win. We sat down and had a chat in the changing room afterwards and I think we were happy with the result in the end.
“There were a few negatives in our game. We probably should have held on to it in our 22, we chucked silly passes away and had a few turnovers.
“But it’s always tough in Italy. A lot of the boys have played out here for the last couple of years and we know how hard it is to win out here.
“So the win was important and hopefully against Ireland we can build on that, put a better performance in and try and get a win.”
