Three games, three defeats - next up a banana skin of a clash for Wales against a resurgent Italy in Rome.
Another loss for Warren Gatland and his team will be heading for a Wooden Spoon just a matter of months after he was supposed to ride to the rescue of the Welsh game.
Will Wales slip up again, or will Gatland secure the first win of his second tenure as Wales coach?
Our expert writers predict the Six Nations outcome.
Mark Orders: Wales have the forward power - just
Were the pools panel ruling on this one they would probably go for a home win, with Italy having beaten Australia in the autumn and given France and Ireland hurry-ups in this Six Nations.
Kieran Crowley’s team have some dangerous runners behind and determined forward carriers in the likes of Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro and Lorenzo Cannone. They also have a classy fly-half in Paolo Garbisi.
Make no mistake, if Wales don’t lift their performance level they will lose. That said, they have been in camp for more than a month and traditionally they have improved under Gatland the more time they spend with him.
Italy being without their inspirational full-back Ange Capuozzo is an incalculable loss.
The Welsh bench looks strong, especially behind the scrum where Tomos Williams, George North and Louis Rees-Zammit are capable of causing problems, while Jac Morgan should have a point to prove after being left out for the game with England. There’s also the experience of Rhys Webb to factor in.
Close your eyes and it’s not hard to imagine it going badly wrong for the visitors.
On the other hand, in Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Morgan, Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau, Wales do have a vein of quality up front. If those five and their pack colleagues can cut the supply line to Italy’s backs, and the replacements do their stuff, just maybe Wales could prevail.
But there won't be much in it.
Italy 24-25 Wales
Steffan Thomas: Wales to scrape home in 'cup final'
This is the first time Wales have gone into a Test match against Italy as underdogs. It's a sign of how far Wales have fallen in such a short space of time, losing 12 out of their last 15 matches, including embarrassing home reverses against Italy and Georgia, respectively.
It is no surprise given the dire state of the regional game with the rot finally spreading to the national side while well-documented off the field issues have not helped matters.
The two sides are without a win this campaign but Italy's performances have been significantly better than Wales'.
Historically, the Azzurri posed a physical and set-piece threat but little else. However, under the tutelage of former All Black Kieran Crowley they have developed a potent attacking game, which is streets ahead of anything Wales have offered over the past two years.
Italy will be viewing this game as a cup final with the loser almost certainly finishing bottom of the table.
But the loss of electric full-back Capuozzo is likely to blunt their attack.
Even though Warren Gatland's men are short of form and confidence they have better players than Italy in most positions.
The selection of Jac Morgan in the back-row is significant considering Italy were annihilated at the breakdown against Ireland.
Wales will be happy to be out of the goldfish bowl for the next couple of weeks, and will be desperate to avoid the ignominy of a first Six Nations whitewash since 2003.
Italy are rightly favourites but I think Wales will just do enough to scrape a win in Rome.
Italy 21-23 Wales
Ben James: Italians to feast on Welsh demons again
For reasons I can’t quite explain, a part of me thinks Wales will win in Rome.
Stop for a second and just take in how depressing that sentence is.
But, disregarding form, game-plan and logic, I just wouldn’t be surprised if Warren Gatland’s side crushed the Italians’ hopes of a first Six Nations victory in Rome since 2013.
There’s more changes, but you’d still say there’s enough quality in the side to win.
But then logic comes into the equation and that part of me believing Wales will win their Wooden Spoon decider gets a little quieter.
What exactly are Wales building to? What’s the identity they want to forge?
Even now, we’re not really sure. In attack, they’re blunt and go missing in the big moments - the sign of a team lacking in many things, above all confidence.
Their hosts in Rome, albeit winless themselves, have confidence. They have a design on how to break down defences.
Granted, Italy have largely put themselves behind the eight ball in matches so far in this tournament. For the talk of how well they’ve been playing, they trailed France 19-6, England 19-0 and Ireland 24-10 at different points of the first-half of each of those games.
Quite simply, they’ve given themselves too much work to do. They may well do that again, but have Wales looked capable of building a two-score lead to date?
Frankly, no. Do Italy have the belief they can win? Well, Cardiff last year proved they can feast on the demons of Welsh rugby when it matters most.
Being so conflicted over the result in Rome would be a genuine positive for rugby were it not in part down to how much Wales have fallen as Italy have risen.
That conflict makes it hard to call. Last year’s shock was equal parts Wales’ woes and Italy’s brilliance.
Right now, it’s just that little bit too hard to rule out both traits reappearing, regardless of what that small part of me thinks.
Italy 26-24 Wales
Simon Thomas: Gatland doesn't know best team
One of the main criticisms of Wayne Pivac was how much he chopped and changed his Wales team. Well, Warren Gatland is proving even more of a tinkerman in his second spell in charge. There were six changes for the Scotland game, nine for England and six more for Rome.
It suggests he really doesn’t know what his best team is yet and it inevitably makes it challenging to build any kind of continuity.
Amid the changes, one constant has been the paucity of the performances, particularly in attack. In contrast, Italy have shown creativity, skill and ambition. Based on the campaign so far, I would go for a narrow home victory.
Italy 21-18 Wales
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