Italy followed up their conquest of Scotland by claiming an historic 23-20 win over Wales in Rome on Saturday, coming from behind to edge a thriller at the Stadio Flaminio.
Ireland can crush the Azzurri next week, but that won't dampen Roman festivities. Regardless of that result, this win over Wales ensures that 2007 will go down in history as Italy's most successful Six Nations campaign to date.
Things aren't quite so rosy for the Welsh -- the wooden spoon and a whitewash await if they don't manage to repel England next weekend.
And Wales's pain will be compounded by the manner in which they conceded the loss to Italy. Indeed, one can expect a sense of injustice to linger long in the minds of Welshmen everywhere.
With just seconds left on the clock and three points down, the visitors were awarded a kickable penalty. James Hook appeared to ask referee Chris White if there was time for a line-out. White is alleged to have given the nod, but he then blew for no-time as the ball was being collected from the stands.
The shrill three-beat blast of the whistle sparking wild celebrations among the Italians but furious complaints from the visitors.
Whether Wales were unfairly denied a crack at a try from the restart is a debate that will rattle around pubs for years to come, but they were hardly robbed of a win -- Italy deserved the spoils.
The locals led 13-7 at the interval courtesy of six points from fly-half Ramiro Pez and a try from Kaine Robertson after Wales wing Shane Williams had scooted over.
Wales surged ahead after the interval with 13 unanswered points, including a try from Matthew Rees, and appeared to be on course for their first win of the campaign.
But Italy summoned up a second wind and Mauro Bergamasco latched onto Pez's chip to touch down for the match-clinching try to punctuate a dour but effective Italian performance.
Prior to the game, Wales coach Gareth Jenkins had remarked that the Italians were "formidable but limited", and this they were.
No-one can accuse the Italians of being flash, nor are they blessed with many players of outstanding natural ability, but they know how to play to their strengths and they know how to boss a game.
Wales, meanwhile, wouldn't be languishing at the bottom of the Six Nations tables if rugby was scored in the manner of gymnastics. Magical things happen whenever the men in red had the floor, but Italy's stranglehold on proceedings meant these opportunities were few and far between.
Wales knew they were in for a claustrophobic afternoon from the moment they stepped off the bus: the pitch had mysteriously shrunk overnight, losing a good couple of metres in width.
The new dimensions stymied Wales's wider ambitions, but -- surprise, surprise -- they suited Pez's probing boot.
And so it was that Italy took the game by the scuff of the neck from the off and never relinquished complete control.
Hearts were in Welsh mouths as early as the second minute as Gonzalo Canale cut an immaculate angle through the Welsh lines before lofting the ball out to Matteo Pratichetti who slide over the line, only to be pulled back for the forward pass.
After Pez had booted Italy into the lead with a penalty, Wales responded with a darting break from Kevin Morgan but his grubber kick was just too strong for Shane Williams and Mauro Bergamasco cleared up.
Wales then worked a two-man overlap but Shane Williams could not release either Kevin Morgan or Mark Jones before being swallowed up by Italy full-back Roland de Marigny.
Pez extended the Azzurri's advantage with his second penalty but Italy lost Gonzalo Canale, a powerful force in their midfield, to a leg injury after he had crashed into Tom Shanklin's tackle.
Wales had very little room to work with and seemed to lack both the confidence and organisation required to get outside the Italians.
But a moment of clarity from Hook finally picked the lock.
The precociously talented centre chipped the on-rushing Italians, allowing Shanklin to collect the perfectly weighted kick. The burly centre then absorbed two tackles before off-loading to Shane Williams who had a clear passage to the sticks for the converted try.
But Welsh insecurities remained. Stephen Jones soon blew a golden opportunity with a laboured pass to Morgan when a flat, quick ball would have exploited a huge overlap.
Jones then took a swinging arm to the face from Mauro Bergamasco and disappeared to the blood bin, to be replaced for the remainder of the half by Gareth Thomas.
While he was off Wales blew two more opportunities as their basic finishing skills were found wanting.
Shane Williams sparked a counter-attack but a poor inside ball from Morgan went to ground and when Hook carved through the Italian defence he failed to spot Morgan on the outside.
Italy then bit back. Kane Robertson spied a half-acre of space behind the pressing red line. He sent up the up-and-end and set off in hot pursuit, his opponent in the footrace was a petrified Ian Gough -- no prizes for guessing who won. Pez converted and Italy took a 13-7 lead into the break.
Wales must have taken the mother of all rollockings at half-time and they started the second period like a steam train, scoring 13 unanswered points inside 12 minutes.
Stephen Jones returned to the fray but Hook took over the kicking duties, booting his first penalty.
Wales returned to Italian territory where Rees peeled around the tail of the line-out, threw a dummy and raced off to score.
Hook converted and landed a second penalty soon after, extending Wales's advantage to a converted try.
Italy, though, had history to think about and pitched their tents on the Welsh line.
De Marigny bulldozed for the line and Alessandro Troncon took it on again as they hammered forward in search of a try.
Italy won a five-metre scrum but the Welsh defence held firm, halting Mauro Bergamasco and hooker Carlo Festuccia.
Pez reduced the arrears with a simple three points and Italy snatched back possession immediately and earned another penalty.
This time Pez aimed for touch. Italy drove their line-out to within touching distance of the Welsh line. Wales withstood wave after wave of attacks before Pez dabbed a neat chip over the top and Mauro Bergamasco won the race to score.
As the clock ticked into injury time, Hook kicked the Welsh penalty opportunity for touch in search of a victory only for White to blow full-time.
The controversy will be lost on the Azzurri and their fans -- these are good days for Italian rugby. It's not easy to shift soccer from the cover of Gazzetta dello Sport, but Alessandro Troncon's mug managed to do so on Saturday -- Sunday should see the team edge the politicians off the front page of La Republica. And why not? They deserve it.
Man of the match: Plenty of big performances from Italy's pack -- with Sergio Parisse to the fore. Mauro Bergamasco also had a brave match, but he misses out on this award as he's up for a gong in a completely different category. Meanwhile, Alessandro Troncon was his usual bossy self and Ramiro Pez orchestrated his side beautifully. Pretty ordinary performance from the Welsh, but a couple of players stood out. James Hook had a typically thoughtful outing, and Martyn Williams and Alix Popham got through heaps of work in difficult conditions. But we'd like to reward the imp-like Shane Williams for yet another irrepressible performance of heart, commitment and courage.
Moment of the match: For better or for worse, it has to be the final kick of the game. We're sure to be hearing about that moment for months!
Villain of the match: Easy one. Mauro Bergamasco for the swing arm that left Stephen Jones with four stitches above his right eye. And to cap it, the hirsute Italian followed up with an early tackle on Kevin Morgan that might have proved pivotal. Many Welsh fans will undoubtedly wish to push this award towards Chris White, but we'll reserve judgement until our investigation is complete. But rest assured that he is bound to receive the first degree from his Welsh wife!
The scorers:
For Italy:
Tries: Robertson, Mauro Bergamasco
Cons: Pez 2
Pens: Pez 3
For Wales:
Tries: S Williams, Rees
Cons: Jones, Hook
Pens: Hook 2
Italy: 15 Roland De Marigny, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Ramiro Pez, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Santiago Dellapè, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Fabio Staibano, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Maurizio Zaffiri, 21 Paul Griffen, 22 Andrea Scanavacca
Wales: 15 Kevin Morgan, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 James Hook, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Alix Popham, 5 Alun Wynn Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Chris Horsman, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements: 16 Rhys Thomas, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Brent Cockbain, 20 Jonathan Thomas, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Gareth Thomas
Referee: Chris White (England)
Touch judges: Wayne Barnes (England), Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)
Television match official: Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor: Douglas Kerr (Scotland)
No comments:
Post a Comment