Henson took centre stage against England last Saturday when he landed a match-winning penalty with just three minutes left on the clock - and has been basking in the glory since.

But it was not his nerveless kicking alone which elevated him to hero status in Wales - his performance against the world champions was near fautless and a place in the British and Irish Lions midfield against New Zealand beckons.

Welsh fans will be eager for more heroics from Henson but if the 2001 International Rugby Board young player of the year fails to shine, there are other match-winners in the backs ready to step into the breach.

Shane Williams and Gareth Thomas are world class operators who will be in the Lions shake-up this summer while Dwayne Peel and Stephen Jones are a promising half-back combination.

Where Wales may struggle, however, is in the forwards with Italy hinting against Ireland that they have the championships strongest pack - spearheaded by a hugely impressive back row.

If they enjoy a similar start to last Sunday when Ireland were blitzed up-front for much of the first half, the Welsh will struggle to unleash their feared threequarters and an upset may be on the cards.

But Mike Ruddocks men are serious title contenders and will be desperate to erase memories of their last trip to Rome in 2003 which ended in a humiliating 30-22 defeat.

Italy:

R de Marigny (Parma); M Bergamasco (Stade Francais), W Pozzebon (Treviso), A Masi (Viadana), L Nitoglia (Calvisano); L Orquera (Padova), A Troncon (Treviso); A Lo Cicero (L'Aquila), F Ongaro (Treviso), M Castrogiovanni (Calvisano), S Dellape (Agen), M Bortolami (Narbonne, capt), A Persico (Agen), M Bergamasco (Stade Francais), S Parisse (Treviso).

Replacements: G Intoppa (Calvisano), S Perugini (Calvisano), CA del Fava (Parma), D dal Maso (Treviso), P Griffen (Calvisano), KP Robertson (Viadana), Matteo Barbini (Petrarca Padova).

Wales:

G Thomas (Toulouse, capt); H Luscombe (Newport Gwent Dragons), T Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), G Henson (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), S Williams (Neath-Swansea Ospreys); S Jones (Clermont Auvergne), D Peel (Llanelli Scarlets); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), M Davies (Gloucester), A Jones (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), B Cockbain (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), R Sidoli (Cardiff Blues), J Thomas (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), M Williams (Cardiff Blues), M Owen (Newport-Gwent Dragons).

Replacements: R McBryde (Llanelli Scarlets), J Yapp (Cardiff Blues), I Gough (Newport-Gwent Dragons), R Sowden-Taylor (Cardiff Blues), G Cooper (Newport Gwent Dragons), C Sweeney (Newport-Gwent Dragons), K Morgan (Newport-Gwent Dragons).