THE day of destiny arrived, and Wales passed the test, salvaging some much-needed rugby pride with a three-tries-to-nil victory over Italy at a packed, vibrant Canberra Stadium on Saturday.

It was only the first stage of a much wider examination, but Wales came through it amid plenty of tension to reach their targeted place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

It's something of a double-edged sword, for on successive Sundays they now meet the world's top-two-rated teams, and likely finalists - New Zealand and England, though England suffered a shock against Samoa yesterday.

The All Blacks provide their last group match in Sydney next Sunday, and the week after it's England, in the quarter-finals in Brisbane.

But that is for the future. For now the team and coach Steve Hansen deserve every credit for despatching the Italians.

The pressure was intense, for it was a must-win game.

The Italians had all the problems going into the game, with two players ruled out through injury, the fitness of others uncertain, and with four days in which to prepare compared with Wales' six.

It was almost a no-win situation for Wales, almost, but not quite. They still had to cope with the pressure of being favourites, a rare position for them to be in, and they had to do the business.

The way it started the signs weren't good, the Italians doing what they are best at, driving forward play, powering into the heart of the Welsh defence in an effort to overwhelm them.

And they looked like succeeding, with the Welsh defence pinned to their own line. But despite frantic early pressure the match almost turned on one incident, not a try or any piece of individuality in attack, but one tackle. Italian dangerman Andrea de Rossi launched himself for the line, only to be stopped in his tracks, not by a fellow back-row man, but by outside-half Ceri Sweeney.

That set the standard for what was to follow - a staggering 174 tackles by Wales, a statistic which revealed everything about their effort and commitment.

When it mattered most the team dug deep and came up with the goods, for which they deserve praise without for one moment getting carried away.

Though the Italians went ahead through the first of five penalties by outside-half Rima Wakarua, Wales answered with a stinging riposte only a minute later.

Mark Jones, praised by Hansen, finished off a cracking move started by man-of-the-match Dafydd Jones with a drive from a scrum, and then skipper Colin Charvis, at loggerheads with Australian referee Andrew Cole for much of the game, Iestyn Harris and Sonny Parker (pictured left) and Duncan Jones joined in to put Jones over.

The try, the manner of the skill levels involved, and Harris' conversion from wide out really threw down the gauntlet to the Italians and put doubts in their minds.

Two more Welsh tries were to follow, the second crucially almost on the half-time whistle, and another beauty.

It was a big boost to morale as well, for prop Duncan Jones had just appeared on crutches with a broken bone in his leg.

The side had also been disrupted by the loss of full back Kevin Morgan with a calf injury as early as the 22nd minute.

But rather than allow those incidents to get them down, the Welsh team responded with a lovely bit of skill from Sweeney, who, with de Rossi bearing down on him, scooped the ball up off his toes, evaded the onrushing Italian, and Martyn Williams flipped the ball on for Parker to race across for a try which Harris converted to add to two earlier penalties and provide a 20-9 interval lead.

That was about as good as Wales could have hoped for, considering the way Italy went for them up front and, not least, their constant offside which went almost completely unpunished by the referee and caused Charvis such consternation.

Wakarua added two more penalties before Dafydd Jones killed it off when he was forced over from a driving line-out which he won himself, and finished by triumphantly blasting the ball sky-high in celebration after he had touched down.

It was, indeed, a defining moment, for there was no way back for the Italians after that. Their sting had been drawn.

A raft of replacements meant the game meandered to a tame close, but the damage had been done by Wales, coach Hansen taking credit for his substitutions as well, in particular Stephen Jones.

Sweeney had made that vital early tackle and the break for the second try, but apart from that had kicked badly, and Jones was needed to calm it down, put the ball behind the Italians and play the ball to the corners, which is just what he did.

Gareth Cooper, taking over from an impressive Dwayne Peel, was also part of the plan, as Hansen emerged with a great deal of credit. Had Iestyn Harris not been off target with a few kicks he would normally have put over, Wales' win would have been more emphatic.

The pressure was on Hansen as much as the players. He had asked to be judged on the World Cup, so Saturday really was D-day for him, and he also came through with flying colours.

He got the tactics right and he got the team right, while the players responded as well. Gareth Llewellyn enjoyed one of his finest games in a Welsh jersey, performing all over the pitch and a force in the line-out, while Dafydd Jones was outstanding.

New prop Adam Jones also came through with flying colours in his first major test and was forced to play the whole game, which was not the plan, once fellow prop Duncan Jones went off.

Wales' skill levels among the backs were, as expected, too much for the Italians, who stuck too rigidly to their game plan.

Once that failed, Wales meeting the challenge head on, there was nowhere else for Italy to go. The Welsh team prospered, and emerged in the Australian sunlight with their heads held high.

Wales: K Morgan (R Williams 22 mins), M Jones, S Parker (D Peel 72), I Harris, G Thomas, C Sweeney (S Jones 49), D Peel (G Cooper 55), Duncan Jones (G Jenkins 24), R McBryde, A Jones, B Cockbain (J Thomas 70), G Llewellyn (R Sidoli 49), D Jones, C Charvis (captain), M Williams. Scorers - tries: M Jones, S Parker, Dafydd Jones; conversions: I Harris (3); penalties: Harris (2).

Italy: G Canale (F Mazzariol 70), N Mazzucato, C Stoica, A Masi, D Dallan, R Wakarua, A Troncon (captain), A Lo Cicero (S Perugini 67), F Ongaro (C Fetuccia 46), M Castrogiovanni, C Checchinato (M Phillips 49), S Dellape (C Bezzi 68), A de Rossi (M Bergamasco 56), S Parisse, A Persico (M Bergmasco 43-50, S Palmer 63). Scorers: penalties (5): R Wakarua.