Italy snatched defeat from Argentina winning 13-12 in an unimaginative and dour game of rugby in Cordoba on Saturday -- a game dominated by referee Matt Goddard's whistle.
Goddard awarded 30 penalties in total -- 22 in the first half alone -- as well as twelve re-set scrums, all of which contributed towards a scrappy affair fought out almost exclusively in the forwards. Neither side played as we know they can and consequently the game rapidly descended into a pointless slugfest.
Much rested on Juan Martín Hernández's shoulders for Argentina, so when he withdrew after twenty minutes with an injured wrist it put pay to any form of creativity from the home side. Equally Italy had little to offer and were lucky to snatch a dramatic late victory thanks to Pablo Canavosio's try.
Neither side deserved to win this game and Argentina should have closed it out -- but ultimately the loss of Hernández cost them a recognised kicker and subsequently at least a further nine points. Italy on the other hand opted to spurn four eminently kickable penalties in the opening twenty minutes, each resulting in a turnover from Argentina.
It came as a surprise then when after nearly forty minutes of fruitless endeavours Sergio Parisse asked Andrea Marcato to go for goal from all of forty metres. Marcato justified the decision by slotting a sweet effort -- sadly for him it came after four successful Argentinean efforts, two each from Hernández and Marcelo Bosch.
Hernández kicked Argentina into a six point lead with as many minutes on the clock as Italy started in a lethargic manner. Then came the first three of fourth wasted chances for Italy -- three blundered catch and drive efforts in the space of five minutes. It was at this stage one began wandering what on earth Parisse was thinking, it is rather brave to take on the might of the Argentina pack without your first-choice eight.
With Hernández off injured Bosch assumed the kicking duties and duly slotted two more penalties. Strangely enough it was Argentina who fell foul of Goddard more at the breakdown -- fifteen first half penalties to Italy's seven.
As the penalties began to come it was surely only a matter of time before Goddard sent at least one player to the sin-bin, after all all of the penalties had been for ruck infringements. However it took a wild attempted punch from Juan Gómez to push Goddard over the edge, the big tighthead getting ten minutes to reflect on his boxing skills -- or lack thereof.
The second half continued in much the same manner, scrums every minute, needless penalties and plenty more forward-orientated exchanges. Despite the mess Bosch tired his best to inject some life into the game, twice creating panic among the Italians as he sliced through poor tackling. Unfortunately there was little in way of support from him and hardly surprisingly both breaks ended in penalties for holding on.
Marcato brought Italy within six points when he slotted his second effort at goal on the fifty minute mark. Bosch had two chances to restore the nine point gap but on both occasions he failed to make a telling blow. Suddenly Italy sensed an unlikely victory and launched one final raid on the Italian line.
In keeping with the nature of the game it started at a scrum and involved several close drives before the replacement Canavosio was driven over. Marcato added the conversion under immense pressure and Goddard gave the final blast on his whistle to send Italy into raptures.
Neither side will take anything from this game and it is very much a case of the sooner forgotten the better.
Man of the Match: Amongst all the ordinary there was one player who showed the only real signs of class -- Marcelo Bosch. He backed up his brace of penalties with a fine running display, sadly he had no support and was always fighting a losing battle.
Moment of the Match: When Marcelo Bosch missed a penalty attempt late on he gave Italy a glimmer of hope. From there the Azzurri launched a last-ditch effort to win the game, which they did through the last minute try.
Villain of the Match: Without a doubt this ugly gong goes to referee Matt Goddard who single handedly ruined this game with his obsession to the sound of his whistle. Thirty-one penalties and nearly forty scrums ensured this game was nothing more than a forwards battle.
The Scorers:
For Argentina:
Pens: Hernández 2, Bosch 2
For Italy:
Try: Canavosio
Con: Marcato
Pens: Marcato 2
Yellow Card: Gómez -- Argentina (39th minute -- punching)
The Teams:
Argentina: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Álvaro Galindo, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Gómez, 2 Álvaro Tejeda, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Pablo Gambarini, 17 Pedro Ledesma, 18 James Stuart, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Federico Martín Aramburu, 22 Hernán Senillosa.
Italy: 15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Ignacio Rouyet.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Alex Moreno, 18 Tommaso Reato, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Enrico Patrizio, 22 Riccardo Pavan/Jaco Erasmus.
Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Paul Marks (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor: Tappe Henning (IRB)
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