British & Irish Lion Leigh Halfpenny has warned his Wales teammates that they must earn the right to play when they take on Italy this weekend.
The full-back has been a key cog in a resurgent Wales side that have bounced back superbly from defeat to England to claim consecutive wins over Scotland, France and Ireland.
That means that Warren Gatland’s troops go into the final clash against Italy with a chance of winning the Championship, but in all likelihood they will have to win well.
But Halfpenny – who won man of the series as the Lions won in Australia in 2013 – is adamant that he and his teammates are not thinking about points difference any time soon.
“Going to Italy the big focus is on winning the game. If we are able to establish ourselves in the match we will assess and situation and go on from there,” he told Wales Online.
“It’s important early on to keep the scoreboard ticking. It’s going to be a huge challenge though. They lost to France and they’re going to be hurting from that. We’re under no doubts how tough it is going to be.
“We’ve just got to focus on our game against Italy and then wait and see what happens. There’s a lot we need to do out in Rome.
“Every game is competitive, there are no easy games and that is why it’s a huge achievement to win the tournament.
"You never know what could happen in the other games. Let’s focus on our game in Rome and then wait and see what happens.
"If we do win another title, It would be huge, a fantastic achievement and one that this team, group and Wales as a nation could be very proud of.”
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