Italy vs. Wales: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Six Nations Round 5

A hat-trick of tries from George North inspired Wales to a rampant 61-20 win over Italy on Saturday, pushing Warren Gatland's side back into contention for this year's Six Nations title.

Wales led the Rome hosts by just a single point going in at half-time, but a second-half revival saw the Welsh claim top spot, where they'll remain at least until Ireland and England play later in the day. The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed Saturday's result:

As was perhaps to be expected, Saturday's guests were greeted by a gritty and stubborn defence in the opening 40 minutes, and it was Italy who managed to get on the scoreboard first with an early penalty.

The first half told a tale of frustration for Gatland's men, where handling errors and miscommunication made for a mistake-ridden opening period.

Numerous chances to cross the line went astray for the Welsh, but Leigh Halfpenny eventually crafted the breakthrough, kicking through for Jamie Roberts to glide over after 18 minutes.

Jacques Brunel's men struck right back, however, per the official RBS 6 Nations Twitter account, as winger Giovanbattista Venditti rummaged directly through a ruck to give the home team the lead once more:

Those Welsh frustrations were worsened in the first half when a knee to the head of Leigh Halfpenny forced the full-back into a withdrawal, a loss which threatened to hurt the travelling outfit's kicking chances.

As Gareth Rhys Owen of BBC Wales Sport pointed out, however, Liam Williams's shift to full-back could in turn come to benefit Gatland's side:

"

In fairness losing Halfpenny might not be a bad thing if it's tries that a Wales need #ITAvWAL

— Gareth Rhys Owen (@g_r_owen) March 21, 2015"

Tensions were fraught as Dan Biggar kicked a 40th-minute penalty to give Wales a one-point lead at the interval, with their championship hopes looking dim in they're bid to surmount the point-difference advantages of England and Ireland.

Williams' switch to the No. 15 role immediately paid dividends, though, and the Scarlets maestro was the first to draw blood for Wales after the restart:

From there, the floodgates opened, and it was the aforementioned North who benefitted most as Wales really started to open their stride over the Azzurri.

The Northampton Saints winger scored his first after 49 minutes before taking advantage of the yellow card shown to Andrea Masi with 30 minutes remaining, completing a 10-minute hat-trick. Those scores convinced former Wales international Tom Shanklin of Wales' potential challenge on the title:

Masi was back on the pitch just two minutes before lock Quintin Geldenhuys was also sent to the bin and Wales smelled more blood, unleashing their full potential while Biggar continued to add all the extras.

Tries from Rhys Webb, captain Sam Warburton and substitute Scott Williams put the visiting side 61-13 up with five minutes remaining, effectively sealing the championship, according to rugby writer Brendan Gallagher:

Leonardo Sarto scored a last-gasp try to reduce Wales' point advantage at the death, with Edoardo Gori converting to shorten their lead even further in what could come to be a crucial score by Saturday's close.

As things stand, however, Wales' second-half performance was an eager statement of their intention to claim the 2015 Six Nations trophy, with attention now turning to Murrayfield and Twickenham.