Wales icon Dan Biggar has hit back at Warren Gatland by doubling down on his view that Wales’ Six Nations clash with Italy is their most important game “for a long, long time”.
The 112-cap international had previously claimed the fixture was their most important “in 20 years”, leading Wales coach Gatland to play down the occasion.
But after losing 13 Test matches on the bounce, Biggar, 35, believes that the consequences of losing the game could be defining for the Dragons.
“It’s like anything, you say something and put it out there, people are going to agree or disagree with it,” Biggar said, speaking in the ITV studio.
“In isolation, a round two game Wales against Italy is clearly not as big a game as a World Cup semi-final or a Grand Slam decider.
“But it what it has got is the consequences of Wales losing today with Ireland to come, Scotland to come and England to come. Whatever is next to come off the back off 13 consecutive defeats.
“For me, the consquences are absolutely huge today and I stand by the fact this is Wales’ biggest game for a long, long time.”