All Blacks overcome brave Italy as Will Jordan surpasses Jonah Lomu feat

New Zealand produced a disjointed display as they sealed a 29-11 Autumn Nations Series victory over a much-improved Italy at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Scores from Cam Roigard, Will Jordan, Mark Tele’a and Beauden Barrett were added to by nine points off the tee from the latter as the All Blacks claimed a rugged win.

Paolo Garbisi kicked six points while Tommaso Menoncello scored for Italy and they will be buoyed by their performance, especially after a disappointing recent period.

There was plenty of encouragement from Italy’s first-half showing as they caused New Zealand several headaches and fronted up admirably in an improved performance.

The pressure they put on the All Blacks led to errors from the visitors.  However, a facet New Zealand had success was the scrum, which won them a couple of penalties.

It was Italy though who opened the scoring after Ardie Savea dived over a ruck in a cynical manner, allowing Garbisi to successfully nudge his team 3-0 into the lead.

New Zealand responded through Barrett on 15 minutes after Menoncello had over-extended at a ruck and taking the three points was a sign the All Blacks were rattled.

They didn’t help themselves when Patrick Tuipulotu and others were penalised for obstruction as Rieko Ioane collected the resulting restart, with Garbisi duly obliging.

At 6-3 up and with Scott Barrett being shown a yellow card for a croc-roll after 20 minutes, things were looking especially rosy for the fired-up Azzurri and their fans.

However, a much-needed opportunistic crossing from Roigard silenced the Allianz Stadium crowd as he sniped around the fringe of a ruck for a score to make it 10-6.

Things would get even better for the All Blacks on the stroke of half-time when Jordan was sent through a hole after a sustained period of pressure for a key try that moved him ahead of the great Jonah Lomu in New Zealand’s try-scoring chart.

The first score after the break was always going to be crucial and it looked for all money that the Italians would get it after dominating both possession and territory.

Unfortunately for the Azzurri ― even with Anton Lienert-Brown being sent to the sin-bin for repeated team offences ― they simply could not break down the black wall.

The scoreline remained locked at 16-7 as the final 10 minutes approached but it was a period not without key moments including Sam Cane bowing out to warm applause.  There was also the introduction of another outgoing New Zealand legend as scrum-half TJ Perenara emerged off the bench for his final run-out in the black shirt.

Finally, the deadlock was broken, however, on 71 minutes when sloppy passing in the backline eventually found Tele’a, with Beauden Barrett adding the tough extras.

It seemed fitting that Italy would have the final say in the game as Menoncello received an offload from Marco Zanon for a consolation score that was fully deserved.

However, the Azzurri chanced their arm too much in the final play on their own line and Beauden Barrett capitalised, cantering over to add gloss to the away win.

The teams

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex (c), 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dino Lamb, 4 Federico Ruzza, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Leonardo Marin 23 Marco Zanon

New Zealand:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 David Havili, 23 Damian McKenzie

Referee:  Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Ludovic Cayre (France)
TMO:  Tual Trainini (France)

Italy survive Georgia scare with record-breaking comeback win

Italy recorded their biggest-ever comeback win to beat Georgia 20-17 in a tense encounter in Genoa on Sunday.

The Azzurri found themselves 17-6 down at half-time, but a run of 14 unanswered points steered them to a gutsy victory.

After a fairly even and entertaining opening 20 minutes, Italy opened the scoring through the boot of fly-half Paolo Garbisi.

This sparked new life into the game, and Georgia took full advantage of it as they crossed mere minutes later.  A sensational attack found the ball in the hands of electric winger Akaki Tabutsadze, and he sliced through the Azzurri defence to cross the whitewash.

Italy responded well to this, however, and made Georgia pay for a string of penalties with another three-pointer from the boot of Garbisi.

A clever take in the air from Alexander Todua at the resulting kick-off got Georgia deep into the Italian 22, which allowed them to strike with a penalty of their own from Luka Matkava.

Los Lelos weren’t done there, and they added their second try of the game shortly after.  A delicious line-break from Davit Niniashvili teleported Georgia deep into Italian territory, and he put the try on a plate for the supporting Vasil Lobzhanidze, who dived under the posts.

With the clock in the red, Italy had another golden opportunity to score, but heroic defence from Georgia dragged Matt Gallagher into touch just as the full-back looked like scoring.

Gonzalo Quesada’s side needed a big start to the second-half if they stood any chance of coming back into the game, and they got exactly that through a penalty try.  A string of Georgian penalties allowed Italy to set up camp in the 22, and ultimately Tabutsadze’s deliberate knock-on was punished with seven points and a sin-bin.

They could easily have scored another too, after yet again heading into the Georgian 22, but a knock-on from Manuel Zuliani gifted them an easy reprieve.

Momentum was still evidently with the Azzurri, however.  Yet more ill-discipline from the visitors allowed Italy to once again get within touching distance, but a well-worked strike move from a lineout allowed Alessandro Fusco to dart through a hole in the defence to score on his return to the side.

Italy nearly made it back-to-back tries too, however, Monty Ioane was taken into touch by a gaggle of Georgian defenders and they escaped once more.

With the clock winding down, Georgia had one final throw of the dice with a lineout inside the Azzurri half, but a knock-on handed Italy back possession, and ultimately the game.

The teams

Italy:  15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dino Lamb-Cona, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Giulio Bertaccini

Georgia:  15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Tornike Kakhoidze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 6 Spanderashvili Ilia, 5 Giorgi Javakhia, 4 Mikheili Babunashvili, 3 Irakli Aptsiauri, 2 Vano Karkadze, 1 Nika Abuladze
Replacements:  16 Luka Nioradze, 17 Giorgi Akhaladze, 18 Luka Japaridze, 19 Vladimeri Chachanidze, 20 Luka Ivanishvili, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Demur Tapladze

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (NZR), Damian Schneider (UAR)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (NZR)

Tomas Albornoz delivers another masterclass as Los Pumas put 50 on the Azzurri

Fly-half Tomas Albornoz scored 20 points for Argentina in their commanding 50-18 win over Italy in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday.

Argentina scored seven tries on the day with Albornoz bagging a score while Juan Cruz Mallia, Gonzalo Bertranou, Joel Sclavi, Santiago Cordero, Matias Alemanno and Bautista Delguy also crossed.

From the tee Albornoz kicked six conversions and a penalty.

The hosts had less luck with only two tries, one from Giacomo Nicotera and another penalty try, with Tomasso Allan kicking two penalties.

It was Los Pumas out of the gates first as Albornoz kicked his first penalty before he slotted a conversion for Mallia’s breakout try on 11 minutes.

Momentum stayed with the blue and white as Bertranou scored close to the half-hour mark which was quickly followed by a maul penalty try just minutes later.  That would be it for the first period before it turned to chaos in the second.

Allan kicked a penalty to start before Sclavi crashed over just eight minutes into the second half.  Albornoz kicked the conversion then found himself over the whitewash in the 56th minute.

Next over in the line was Cordero before Italy scored their final try through Nicotera with 13 minutes left.

That did not stop Los Pumas from scoring two quick tries through Alemanno and Delguy.  Albornoz kicked the conversion to notch up 50 points for Argentina.

The teams

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Marco Zanon

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Orlando, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Matias Alemmano, 20 Bautista Pedemonte, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Santiago Cordero

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Adam Leal (England)
TMO:  Mike Adamson (Scotland)

More misery for Eddie Jones as Japan suffer big home loss against Italy

Italy proved too strong for Japan in their mid-year international in Sapporo on Sunday as they clinched a convincing 42-14 victory over their hosts.

In a fast-paced and entertaining encounter, the Azzurri were full value for their win as they dominated for long periods and eventually outscored the Brave Blossoms by five tries to two.

For Italy, Ange Capuozzo, Martin Page-Relo, Andrea Zambonin, Alessandro Garbisi and Ross Vintcent crossed the whitewash with Paolo Garbisi (3) and Leonardo Marin succeeding with conversions while Page-Relo also slotted three penalties.

Meanwhile, Dylan Riley scored a brace of tries and Rikiya Matsuda added a couple of conversions for Japan.

The result was another setback for Japan’s new head coach Eddie Jones as the Brave Blossoms are yet to win a Test since he took over the coaching reins at the start of the year.

Japan also suffered a heavy defeat against England last month before losing narrowly to Georgia last weekend. Meanwhile, Italy lost their first mid-year Test to Samoa before bouncing back with back-to-back victories over Tonga and Japan.

On Sunday, the Azzurri raced into a 10-0 lead after Page-Relo opened the scoring early on with a penalty before Capuozzo crossed for the opening try in the eighth minute.

The visitors continued to dominate as the half progressed and were rewarded with further converted five-pointers from Page-Relo and Zambonin before Riley crossed for his first try in the latter stages of the first half which meant Italy held a 24-7 lead at the interval.

The Brave Blossoms were fastest out of the blocks after the break and were rewarded soon after the restart when Riley crossed for his second try.

Concern over Paolo Garbisi

The next 25 minutes was a tight affair as the sides battled to gain the ascendancy but the Azzurri suffered a big blow in the 68th minute when star fly-half Garbisi was forced off the field due to a blow to his head after an accidental clash with Riley.

Despite that setback, Italy came to the fore with a strong finish and secured the result thanks to late tries from replacement scrum-half Garbisi and Vintcent.

Italy repeat Cardiff heroics as Wales handed Six Nations Wooden Spoon

Wales suffered a first winless campaign in 21 years as a 24-21 loss to an impressive Italy outfit in Cardiff condemned Saturday’s hosts to bottom spot in the Six Nations.

For the Azzurri they can finally offload the Wooden Spoon for the first time since 2015 as tries from Monty Ioane and Lorenzo Pani helped to seal a solid victory on the road.

Paolo Garbisi slotted 11 points off the tee while Martin Page-Relo sent over a further penalty, with Elliot Dee, Will Rowlands and Mason Grady going over for Wales late on.

Wales have now suffered seven successive Six Nations home reversals, two on the bounce to Italy and won just one game from 10 starts in the tournament since Warren Gatland returned for a second stint as head coach.

Italy had propped up the table for eight campaigns in a row, but they avoided that fate this time around, and the Cardiff mood was in stark contrast to five years ago when Wales stormed to the Six Nations title and a Grand Slam by crushing Ireland.

The Azzurri, though, could reflect on a memorable campaign that also saw them defeat Scotland and draw with France in Lille.

And life is not about to get any easier for Gatland or his players.  Their next game is against world champions South Africa in June, followed by a two-Test tour of Australia.

Wales monopolised early possession without making any real attacking headway, and Italy went ahead when Garbisi booted a sixth-minute penalty.

Italy comfortably absorbed continued pressure from Wales, before Garbisi doubled their lead through a second penalty after George North infringed by not releasing the ball on the floor.

And Wales’ promising start soon unravelled, with North’s midfield partner Nick Tompkins dropping a pass and Italy storming upfield to post an outstanding try.

Garbisi, centre Tommaso Menoncello and lock Federico Ruzza combined superbly, setting up a strong attacking platform before Wales were unlocked defensively when Ioane sprinted through a gap and touched down.

Garbisi missed the conversion, but Italy had an 11-point advantage after 20 minutes, leaving the Wooden Spoon hovering closer into view for Wales.

The home side were at sixes and sevens, a situation underlined when a defensive mix-up between Sam Costelow and Cameron Winnett saw the ball knocked-on to gift Italy an attacking scrum 20 metres out.

Although the Azzurri could not capitalise, there was continued uncertainty and hesitancy from Wales, and even when they established a threatening position inside Italy’s 22, Tompkins knocked on again.

Wales looked completely fazed by the occasion, in contrast to Italy’s largely calm and assured presence, and an 11-0 interval lead confirmed a sense of control for the visitors.

It had been an opening 40 minutes for Wales as poor as the first half against Scotland in their Six Nations opener, when the Scots built up a 20-point advantage.

Italy struck again just six minutes after the restart, with Ioane heavily involved and Pani producing a blistering finish as he cut back inside Wales wing Rio Dyer.  Garbisi’s conversion put them 18 points ahead, with seemingly no way back for Wales.

Gatland began ringing the changes, and a glimmer of hope was provided when Dee crashed over for a try 16 minutes from time that Costelow converted.

But Garbisi snuffed that out when he kicked a 45-metre penalty, and Page-Relo then found the target from even longer range as Wales’ abject Six Nations season reached its sorry conclusion despite late tries from Rowlands and Grady.

The teams

Wales:  15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements:  16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Mason Grady

Italy:  15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Martin Page-Relo, 23 Leonardo Marin

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Chris Busby (Ireland), Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO:  Joy Neville (Ireland)

Italy end long wait for Rome win as Scotland's Six Nations hopes dented

Italy scored 21 unanswered points in a stunning comeback to secure a 31-29 victory over Scotland, which severely dents Gregor Townsend’s men’s Six Nations hopes.

Juan Ignacio Brex, Louis Lynagh and Stephen Varney tries helped the Azzurri to a famous victory, with Paolo Garbisi and Martin Page-Relo adding points off the tee.

Zander Fagerson, Kyle Steyn, Pierre Schoeman and Sam Skinner went over for Scotland as they claimed two points from a shock defeat in Rome that could end their title push.

This chastening Six Nations defeat in the Eternal City is sure to crank up the heat on head coach Townsend five months after exiting the World Cup at the group-stage.

Italy got the chance to get the scoreboard ticking over just seconds into the match when Scotland were penalised on their own 22 immediately from the kick-off. Garbisi saw the ball fall off the tee while the clock was running but the fly-half kept his composure to re-tee and send his kick between the posts.

Scotland soon gained a foothold, however, and they got themselves in front in the sixth minute when Fagerson powered his way over from close range after a sustained spell of pressure inside the Italian 22. Finn Russell converted.

The visitors crossed the whitewash again five minutes later when they worked the ball out to the right and Blair Kinghorn fed Steyn, who bundled his way past two Italians to cross the line. Russell converted again.

The Azzurri summoned a swift response as scrum-half Page-Relo lobbed a clever kick over the top and centre Brex ran gleefully over just to the left of the posts in the 15th minute. Garbisi converted.

Shortly after Russell kicked a close-range penalty, Scotland scored their third try of the match in the 28th minute as Schoeman finished things off after being fed by George Turner in a driving maul. Russell’s conversion drifted wide.

Italy finished the first half strongly and reduced their interval deficit to 22-16 with a couple of penalties kicked by Garbisi and then Page-Relo, who was on target from close to the half-way line.

Scotland t―ought they had extended their advantage two minutes into the second period when scrum-half George Horne ― on his first start since the 2019 World Cup ― bolted over after excellent play by Huw Jones to release him but it was subsequently chalked off after Schoeman was adjudged to have committed a foul in the build-up.

The prop’s needless indiscretion was to prove hugely pivotal. Just two minutes later, Italy closed to within a point when debutant Lynagh ― son of former Australia international Michael ― ran on to Garbisi’s kick-through and darted over the line. Garbisi ― with the chance to edge his team in front ― saw his conversion attempt come back off the post.

The Scots found themselves in trouble in the 57th minute when the Italians got themselves in front as replacement scrum-half Varney found a gap between Andy Christie and Jack Dempsey to nudge his way over. This time Garbisi was on target.

Garbisi then scored a huge penalty from distance to put the hosts nine points ahead with seven minutes to play, placing the Scots in a state of desperation.

Replacement lock Skinner ― denied a match-winning try against France a month previously – pushed over with two minutes left and Russell converted to bring the Scots back to within two points and set up a tense finish.

Townsend’s team were unable to find another score, however, and ― as the Azzurri celebrated a rare and deserved victory ― the Scotland players slumped to their knees in abject despair as a campaign had that promised so much was reduced to rubble in Rome.

The teams

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Spanish Mirco, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Lorenzo Cannone, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Federico Mori

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Andy Christie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Matt Fagerson, 22 Ali Price, 23 Kyle Rowe

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Adam Leal (England)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Italy settle for thrilling Six Nations draw with 14-man France in Lille

Italy fly-half Paolo Garbisi missed a late penalty which meant his side had to settle for a 13-13 draw with France in their Six Nations clash at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille on Sunday.

In the end, both sides scored a try apiece with Les Bleus captain Charles Ollivon crossing the whitewash for the hosts and Ange Capuozzo scored the Azzurri’s five-pointer.

France’s other points came via a conversion and two penalties from Thomas Ramos while Garbisi succeeded with a penalty and a conversion for Italy and Martin Page-Relo also added a three-pointer off the kicking tee.

However, Italy will be kicking themselves as they had a chance to win the game in its dying moments when Garbisi lined up a shot at goal from 38 metres out.

But the ball toppled off its tee and, with just a few seconds left on the shot clock after it had been replaced, Garbisi rushed his kick and struck the right-hand post.

France ― who had won 45 of their previous 48 Test matches against Italy, including the past 14 in a row ― had lost Jonathan Danty to a red card on the stroke of half-time for a high shot on opposite centre Juan Ignacio Brex.

Les Bleus thrashed Italy 60-7 at last year’s World Cup but a repeat of that one-sided encounter did not materialise as the Azzurri underlined their improvement under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada.

Italy remain bottom of the Six Nations, level on points with Wales, while France stay in fourth place, with their title dream over.

France started at breakneck pace and were rewarded with a seventh-minute try.

Italy were unable to stop a series of pick-and-go’s through the middle of their defence and skipper Ollivon got the ball down under a pile of Azzurri bodies.

Ramos dispatched a simple conversion and swiftly added a penalty as France suggested the game could be effectively over by half-time.

Italy spent most of the first half hanging on by their fingernails, and were not helped by a risky strategy of trying to escape their 22 with ball in hand.

Fly-half Matthieu Jalibert was stopped near to the line and 19-year-old lock Posolo Tuilagi almost celebrated his first Test start with a try.

But Tuilagi was held up over the line and the contest took a dramatic turn in the final play of the first half as Italy launched a rare attack.

There was clear head-on-head contact between Danty and Brex, and English referee Christophe Ridley reduced France to 14 men with a yellow card.

Late drama in Lille and it ends all square between France and Italy 😱🙌#GuinnessM6N #FRAITA pic.twitter.com/jfoKEvGZ1T

― Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 25, 2024

Page-Relo provided further punishment to France from long range, and Ridley confirmed after the interval that the bunker review system had upgraded Danty’s yellow to red.

France made light of their numerical disadvantage as their forwards rallied for Ramos to land his second penalty.

Tommaso Menoncello went close to an Azzurri try, kicking ahead before running out of ground, but Garbisi cut the gap to seven points again with a straightforward penalty.

Italy drew level 10 minutes from time after building through the phases for Leonardo Marin to find Capuozzo with a superb offload.

Garbisi converted but then failed to top it as Italy, with only two Six Nations wins over France since joining the Championship in 2000, fell agonisingly short of a second success in 45 matches.

The teams

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 François Cros, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Paul Boudehent, 5 Posolo Tuilagi, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchand, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Esteban Abadie, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Yoram Moefana

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Tommaso Menoncello, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Federico Mori, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Giosuè Zilocchi, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Andrea Zambonin, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Leonardo Marin

Referee:  Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Ian Tempest (England)

Clinical Ireland nil Italy as perfect start to Six Nations defence continues

Ireland made light work of Italy in their second game of this year’s Six Nations as they cruised to a dominant 36-0 six-try victory at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Sunday.

After their outstanding performance against France in Marseille last Friday, the Irish were looking to make it two wins from two and completed another maximum haul.

Tries from Jack Crowley, Dan Sheehan (2), Jack Conan, James Lowe and Calvin Nash saw Andy Farrell’s men go into the Six Nations fallow week with 10 points on the table.

For Italy is was a hugely disappointing day at the office as they could not land a blow on reigning champions Ireland, with this their second successive loss in the tournament.

Ireland’s display could certainly have been more ruthless but it was more than enough to beat the perennial wooden spoon winners and secure a 17th successive home win.

Farrell’s men remain on course to become the first side to win back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams ahead of hosting Wales on February 24 and March appointments with England and Scotland.

Italy arrived at a sold-out Aviva Stadium as overwhelming underdogs and seeking a first championship success on Irish soil on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England.

Paolo Garbisi shanked an early penalty to give the Azzurri the lead, before Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey released provincial team-mate Crowley to gleefully register a landmark five points.

The seventh-minute score initially did little to settle the hosts amid a subdued Sunday afternoon atmosphere, which faded fast from eight-year-old Stevie Mulrooney performing a rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call.

Farrell’s starting XV, showing six personnel changes from Marseille, initially looked disjointed as the contest descended into a scrappy affair.

Energetic bursts from Hugo Keenan momentarily lifted the crowd and led to a second score in the 24th minute, with Crowley, Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw ultimately combining to tee up Sheehan.

Blasts of Zombie by the Cranberries ― the team’s World Cup anthem ― greeted each Ireland try and rang out again three minutes before the break when Conan bulldozed across the line after Joe McCarthy was held up.

Ireland had the bonus point in the bag within five minutes of the restart as hooker Sheehan, who also crossed against Les Bleus, claimed his second try of the afternoon.

Centre Henshaw was perhaps harshly denied a score due to an adjudged double movement before grounding.

But Ireland, who saw full-back Keenan limp off with an apparent leg issue, would not be denied for long.

Impressive Leinster wing Lowe added further gloss to the scoreboard with a powerful 62nd-minute finish, shortly after Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello was sent to the sin bin for illegally stopping him by sticking out a leg.

Following Garbisi’s wayward penalty, outclassed Italy offered little attacking threat and rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Another fruitless trip to the Irish capital was compounded two minutes from time when Munster wing Nash collected Jamison Gibson-Park’s pass to score for the second week in a row, with replacement 10 Harry Byrne slotting the extras to add to two Crowley conversions.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Caelan Doris (c), 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Jordan Larmour

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Michele Lamaro (c), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, Andrea Zambonin, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Martin Page-Relo, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Federico Mori

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (France)

England dig deep as new cap shines in come-from-behind Six Nations win

A second-half try from Alex Mitchell helped England come from behind to defeat Italy 27-24 and start their Six Nations campaign on a positive note in Rome on Saturday.

England were trailing 17-14 at the break after an impressive opening stanza from the Azzurri, who were playing their first game under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada.

But Mitchell’s try and the boot of George Ford eased Steve Borthwick’s men to the win, with Elliot Daly having crossed in the first half while Ethan Roots proved a handful.

Alessandro Garbisi, Tommaso Allan and Monty Ioane scored the hosts’ tries, with Allan and Paolo Garbisi kicking extras, as the Azzurri‘s drought against England continues.

New Zealand-born blindside flanker Roots was named Player of the Match in Rome after shining on his England Test debut with a rugged performance in the six jersey.

As promised by new captain Jamie George, the favourites played with greater freedom, and there was less kicking than in the first year of Borthwick’s reign, at least until the focus switched to grinding Italy down in the final half-hour.

But overall, the more exciting rugby was played by the Azzurri, who showed ingenuity and ambition in their pursuit of a maiden victory against their rivals, and their second try scored by Allan was a beauty.

New caps Roots, Fraser Dingwall, Fin Smith, Chandler Cunningham-South and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, brought a freshness to England, who ended their four-year stretch of beginning the Six Nations with a defeat, but the initial outlook was far less rosy.

They lost replacement prop Ellis Genge to a foot injury shortly before kick-off, and that was only the start of their problems as early enterprise from Italy engineered a try for Alessandro Garbisi.

It rewarded their brighter start and came when Lorenzo Cannone was sent through a gap, with Garbisi able to scoop up the offload.

With Allan and Ford exchanging penalties, the score read 10-3, but the deficit provided the jolt England needed as Freeman glided into space and delivered the scoring pass to Daly.

The try had been coming, but it was quickly overshadowed by a stunning riposte from Italy, whose precise passing and clever running off set-piece ball was executed beautifully for Allan to score.

Two penalties by Ford kept England snapping at the Azzurri’s heels at half-time, and they needed to regroup quickly, particularly in defence, to spare themselves an unwanted slice of history.

Reassurance came when Mitchell jinked and spun his way over the whitewash in the 45th minute, and for the first time, the visitors led.

Italy’s play now lacked its earlier precision, and they were pinned deep in their own half as England tightened the screw with Ford landing successive penalties to propel them 10 points ahead.

Handling errors cost the Azzurri time and again, and their line-out continued to malfunction in an exasperating period for the hosts that also saw Allan miss an important penalty.

Daly was sent to the sin-bin for a trip as Italy hunted the try that would haul them back into contention, but they were unable to produce any more magic as the upset slipped from their fingertips despite a last-gasp Monty Ioane touch down.

The teams

Italy:  15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Federico Mori

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Danny Care, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Ruthless France hammer Italy to lock up top spot in Pool A

France wrapped up top spot in Pool A as they dominated Italy, winning 60-7 at OL Stadium in Lyon as they progress to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

Tries from Damian Penaud (two), Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Thomas Ramos, Matthieu Jalibert, Peato Mauvaka and Yoram Moafana (two) helped Les Bleus to victory.

Ramos would further chip in with six conversions and one penalty while Melvyn Jaminet kicked a conversion and a late penalty as France eased to a maximum.

For Italy it was another sobering night as they only slightly improved on the 96-17 loss to New Zealand, with this defeat seeing them bow out of the World Cup.

Only a monumental defeat would have seen the hosts crash out, but that was never going to happen as Les Bleus ran in eight tries in Lyon.

Penaud (two), Bielle-Biarrey and Ramos all crossed the line in the first half, with Jalibert, Mauvaka and Moefana (two) adding second-half efforts as they ran riot with a record-breaking win over their opponents.

It sets up a quarter-final clash with either South Africa or Ireland and they will be dreaming of World Cup glory on their own soil.

Italy's interest ends with a mauling, with Manuel Zuliani's 70th-minute try finally getting them on the scoresheet, but they head home at the conclusion of their Pool A campaign.

The French domination started early as Penaud crossed in the corner in just the third minute before Bielle-Biarrey side-stepped a late tackle 10 minutes later.

Then Ramos and Jalibert gave the hosts a 31-0 lead at half-time.

The onslaught continued after the break as Mauvaka rolled over from a lineout, with Moefana getting his first after collecting Penaud's pass.

Zuliani finally got Italy on the board with 10 minutes remaining but Moefana powered through to complete the rout.

They can now sit back and wait to find out their last-eight opponents.

🇫🇷🇮🇹 Damian Penaud just cannot stop scoring. #FRAvITA #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/4OejVj0G27

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 6, 2023

The teams

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Francois Cros, 21 Baptiste Couilloud, 22 Yoram Moefana, 23 Melvyn Jaminet

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Paolo Garbisi, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Simone Ferrari
Replacements:  16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 David Sisi, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Luca Morisi, 23 Lorenzo Pani

Referee:  Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

All Blacks thrash Italy, scoring 96 points in statement World Cup victory

New Zealand sent a message to their 2023 Rugby World Cup rivals that they are not to be written off after they crushed a sorry Italy 96-17 in Lyon on Friday.

A grand total of 14 tries were chalked up by a rampant All Blacks outfit, who seem in ominous form since their opening night defeat to host nation France.

Aaron Smith led the way with a hat-trick of tries while Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and Dane Coles grabbed two each, with Mark Telea, Brodie Retallick, Dalton Papali'i, Damian McKenzie and Anton Lienert-Brown rounding out the scoring.

Richie Mo'unga kicked 18 points off the tee while replacement McKenzie chipped in with a further four conversions on a wonderful night for New Zealand.

The only bright moments of note for a disappointing Italy side came via second-half tries from Ange Capuozzo and Monty Ioane as they were well beaten.

Italy would have dumped New Zealand out of the competition with a win but that never looked remotely on the cards from the moment in the sixth minute when Jordie Barrett launched a perfect cross-field kick for Jordan, who performed a leaping touchdown in the corner.

Tommaso Allan got Italy on the board early with a penalty but the rest of the first half was a horror show as Smith crossed three times, Savea twice and Telea once, with the line-out proving particularly profitable.

Mo'unga converted all seven first-half tries and nine in total, missing only his 10th attempt before being substituted.

Trailing 49-3 at half-time, Italy came out strongly for the second half and scored their first try in the 48th minute, Capuozzo showing his speed in the corner.

But the All Blacks went straight down the other end and crossed again, Retallick applying the finish touch after Scott Barrett had charged down an attempted clearance.

Cam Roigard was denied a try after he was deemed to have made a double movement but moments later Papali'i notched the All Blacks' ninth score.

An all-action performance on an impressive evening for his team

Congratulations to @AllBlacks backrow Ardie Savea on being named @Mastercard #POTM#RWC2023 | #NZLvITA | #Priceless pic.twitter.com/WMuULR6TRA

― Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 29, 2023

They were approaching a century as Coles twice, McKenzie, Jordan and Lienert-Brown all scythed through the Italian defence.

The final word went to Italy through Ioane's try but this was emphatically the All Blacks' night.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali'i, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Samuel Whitelock, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Italy:  15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Hame Faiva, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Niccolo Cannone, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Toa Halafihi, 22 Martin Page-Relo, 23 Paolo Odogwu

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Italy's second half surge sees off talented Uruguay side

Italy were made to work extremely hard by Uruguay but their greater quality told in the second half as they emerged with a 38-17 victory in the Rugby World Cup Pool A encounter.

The Uruguayans were much the better side in the first half and deservedly went 17-7 ahead at the interval through Nicolas Freitas' score, a penalty try and Felipe Etcheverry's drop-goal.

Lorenzo Pani had initially given the Azzurri the lead but it wasn't until the start of the second period when they finally got to grips with the game.

They took advantage of Andres Vilaseca's yellow card to touch down twice while the centre was off the field through Michele Lamaro and Monty Ioane.

Lorenzo Cannone then went over to complete the bonus-point and Juan Ignacio Brex made sure of the victory with 20 minutes remaining.

That put them to the top of their group ahead of their huge match with New Zealand where a win will take them into the quarter-finals for the first time ever.

Los Teros were exceptional in their opening encounter against France and they were similarly impressive in the opening half on Wednesday.

Italy attempted to stamp their mark on the encounter early, putting pressure on in the scrum and taking play inside the opposition 22.

Under pressure, the South Americans eventually folded with Pani on hand to touch down and give his side the advantage.

Kieran Crowley's men continued to move the ball with pace but Uruguay were often alive to the situation and they benefited from the Azzurri's overambition.

Captain Lamaro was surprisingly the culprit when the openside's pass was easily intercepted by Etcheverry.

That moment set off a series of events which led to a pair of Italy yellow cards and Los Teros taking the lead into the interval.

Etcheverry was brought to ground five metres out but Italy began to infringement with regularity and it ended in Niccolo Cannone being sin-binned.

Instead of going for the posts, the Uruguayans opted to kick for touch and as they surged towards the line, Danilo Fischetti illegally brought down the maul, leading to a yellow card and penalty try.

Down two important forwards, the Azzurri would concede again.  They initially handled that period well but the superb Los Teros increased the intensity and Freitas was on hand to cross the whitewash.

🇺🇾 A well-worked try for Nicolas Freitas earlier. #ITAvURU #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/9fiSlxlwf5

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 20, 2023

Cannone and Fischetti returned but Crowley's charges would find themselves 10 points behind at the break through Etcheverry's drop-goal.

The Italian head coach needed a response from his charges at the start of the second period and they received a boost when Vilaseca was sin-binned for a glancing blow on the head of Pani.

It would prove to be the turning point as the Azzurri sensed their opportunity and began to dominate the game.

Lamaro's first try in international rugby brought Italy back into the contest before Ioane crossed the whitewash to take them ahead.

Italy very much had the momentum and they struck the decisive blow when Lorenzo Cannone crossed the whitewash for a 28-17 lead.

Uruguay would not recover and Brex went over to increase their buffer before Paolo Garbisi's late penalty rubberstamped the win.

The teams

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Paolo Garbisi, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Luca Bigi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Giovanni Pettinelli, 22 Alessandro Fusco, 23 Paolo Odogwu

Uruguay:  15 Baltazar Amaya, 14 Gaston Mieres, 13 Tomas Inciarte, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Ignacio Peculo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Facundo Gattas, 18 Diego Arbelo, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Carlos Deus, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Felipe Berchesi, 23 Bautista Basso

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Tom Foley (England)

Seven-try Italy put 50 past plucky Namibia in Saint-Etienne

Italy made an excellent start to their Rugby World Cup campaign when they sealed a 52-8 bonus-point victory against Namibia in Saint-Etienne on Saturday.

Although it was a comfortable win in the end, the Azzurri were made to work hard for the result, especially in the opening half when their opponents put in a competitive performance.

In the end, Italy’s class shone through and they eventually outscored Namibia by seven tries to one with Lorenzo Cannone, Paolo Garbisi, Dino Lamb, Ange Capuozzo, Hame Faiva, Manuel Zuliani and Paolo Odogwu crossing the whitewash for the Azzurri, while Tommaso Allan finished with a 17-point haul courtesy of seven conversions and a penalty.

For the Welwitschias, Gerswin Mouton scored a try and Tiaan Swanepoel added a penalty.

Namibia made the brighter start and opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute when Swanepoel succeeded with a penalty but five minutes later the Azzurri drew level courtesy of a Allan three-pointer off the kicking tee.

Shortly afterwards, Namibia were reduced to 14 men when Torsten van Jaarsveld was yellow carded for collapsing a maul illegally close to his try-line.

Italy put the resulting penalty into touch deep inside Namibia territory and got a rolling maul going from the lineout before Cannone crashed over for the opening try.

With Van Jaarsveld in the sin bin, Namibia struggled with their throw-ins at the lineouts and in the 15th minute Italy pounced on a wayward throw from Richard Hardwick at the set-piece.

The ball came out to Garbisi, who beat a couple of defenders with ease inside Namibia’s 22 before dotting down under the posts.

Despite their numerical advantage, the Welwitschias did not panic and in the 21st minute they were rewarded when Mouton gathered a long pass from Swanepoel before dotting down in the right-hand corner.

The rest of the half was a scrappy affair as Namibia did well to keep the Azzurri at bay and the Welwitschias had a chance to narrow the gap on the stroke of half-time when Swanepoel lined up a monster shot at goal from 60 metres out.

His effort had the distance but not the direction and the teams changed sides at the break with the Azzurri holding a 17-8 lead.

Italy were fastest out of the blocks in the second period and extended their lead in the 46th minute when Lamb crashed over from close quarters for their third try.

10 minutes later, Capuozzo launched a stunning counter-attack from deep inside his half and traded passes with Monty Ioane before diving over in the left-hand corner for a well-taken try.

🇮🇹 Italy speedster Ange Capuozzo leaves his stamp on the match with this brilliant try against Namibia in Toulouse! #RWC2023 #ITAvNAM pic.twitter.com/WCGLXlE6uk

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 9, 2023

With the bonus-point in the bag, the Azzurri upped the ante on attack and were rewarded with further tries from Faiva and Zuliani during the latter stages of the match before Odogwu came off the bench to show a superb turn of pace as he added the final nail in Namibia’s coffin after the full-time hooter had sounded.

The teams

Italy:  15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Epalahame Faiva, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 David Sisi, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Martin Page-Relo, 22 Paolo Odogwu, 23 Pierre Bruno

Namibia:  15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Gerswin Mouton, 13 Johan Deysel (c), 12 Danco Burger, 11 JC Greyling, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Richard Hardwick, 7 Johan Retief, 6 Wian Conradie, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 Adriaan Ludick, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Desiderius Sethie
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Jason Benade, 18 Casper Viviers, 19 Tiaan De Klerk, 20 Prince Gaoseb, 21 Jacques Theron, 22 Andre van der Bergh, 23 Le Roux Malan

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO:  Joy Neville (Ireland)

Italy underline their class with positive win over Japan in Treviso

Italy claimed a 42-21 win over Japan in a frenetic Test in Treviso, giving Kieran Crowley’s men momentum going into the Rugby World Cup.

The Azzurri’s wings Ange Capuozzo and Monty Ioane were on song as they caused huge problems throughout the clash, which led to some beautiful tries.

It was the hosts who opened the scoring as in-form playmaker Paolo Garbisi added another try assist to his resume as he played in his half-back partner Steven Varney in for a try in the seventh minute.  Tommaso Allan made no mistake from the tee.

Japan responded 10 minutes later as Jone Naikabula benefited from a well-worked move to crash over and score.  The extras were not added on this occasion.

The see-saw game swung back in the favour of Italy who scored arguably the try of the game, started by Ioane who played Capuozzo into some space down the right-hand side.  The superstar made good ground down the touchline before kicking it infield where Ioane won the ball and scored.  Allan was on hand again to kick the conversion.

🤯 Ange Capuozzo with a typically beautiful try assist! #ITAvJPN pic.twitter.com/ERItuJiUG7

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 26, 2023

Seung Sin Lee of Japan kicked two penalties whilst Allan added one before the break as the hosts carried a 17-11 lead.

Allan was on hand again to kick a penalty after the break before a neat offload played Japan full-back Kotaro Matsushima in for the try in the 52nd minute.  The conversion was missed again.

Italy did not wait to respond as Ioane scored a fantastic try only four minutes later with Allan missing on this occasion.

Allan was on the scoresheet again in the 65th minute as he kicked another penalty to give his side some breathing room.

Japan tightened the game up just after the clock struck 70 minutes through an unconverted try scored by Dylan Riley.

The hosts held on for the win and will be happy to be gathering momentum going into the global showpiece in France.

Ioane completed his hat-trick in the final few minutes as Allan added the two extras off the tee before substitute Martin Page Relo scored a fortuitous converted try right at the end of time.

Clinical Italy cruise past 14-man Romania to seal their first win of the year

Italy trounced 14-man Romania – who lost lock Adrian Motoc early on – running in a whopping nine tries to one en route to a 57-7 triumph in San Benedetto del Tronto on Saturday.

It was a clinical performance from the home side, who dominated for long periods, but their task was made much easier after referee Luke Pearce issued a red card to Motoc in the 10th minute, after he led with his head while clearing out Italy captain Michele Lamaro at a ruck.

In the end, the Azzurri had too much class for the Oaks with Ange Capuozzo leading the way with a brace of tries while Paolo Odogwu, Monty Ioane, Alessandro Garbisi, Giacomo Nicotera, Juan Ignacio Brex, Dino Lamb and Toa Halafihi also crossed the whitewash.

Paolo Garbisi also succeeded with six conversions while Romania’s only points came via a penalty try as Italy clinched their first victory of the year.

The Azzurri were in control of proceedings from the outset and opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute when Odogwu did well to escape the attentions of two defenders ― after Paolo Garbisi found him with a well-timed skip pass ― before crossing in the right-hand corner.

The latter failed with the conversion attempt but Italy continued to hold the upper and things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Motoc received his marching orders soon after.

With a one-man advantage, the home side upped the ante on attack and soon after Motoc’s departure fly-half Paolo Garbisi offloaded to Ioane, who had an easy run-in over the try-line.

Italy continued to dominate as the half progressed and were rewarded with their third try in the 16th minute when scrum-half Alessandro Garbisi outpaced the cover defence before dotting down.

The older Garbisi added the extras which meant the Azzurri were holding a 19-0 lead before Capuozzo got his name onto the scoresheet with a breakaway try from just inside his half midway through the opening period.

The hosts continued to attack and in the 28th minute Nicotera ran onto a pass from Lamaro before burrowing his way over the try-line from close quarters.

10 minutes later, the Oaks made a rare attack inside Italy’s half and they were soon camped inside the hosts’ 22.  They put plenty of pressure on the Azzurri before being rewarded a penalty try after a cynical defensive foul from Lamaro close to his try-line.

🇮🇹🇷🇴 Italy make light work of Romania in San Benedetto del Tronto to seal their first win of the year! #ITAvROM #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/wtuDUkgI0C

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 19, 2023

That meant the teams changed sides with Italy holding a 31-7 lead but despite having their captain in the sin bin, the Azzurri were fastest out of the blocks after the restart when Brex rounded off a flowing move which Paolo Garbisi started inside his own half.

Soon after that, Romania were reduced to 13 men when Cristian Chirica was yellow carded after a clash of heads while tackling Ioane.  That happened in the 46th minute and eight minutes later the home side were rewarded when Capuozzo crossed for his second try in spectacular fashion out wide.

In the 66th minute, relentless pressure from the Azzurri resulted in a converted try from Lamb which brought up a half century of points before Halafihi crossed for their final try in the 72nd minute ― which Garbisi also converted ― to seal an emphatic win.

Caelan Doris double helps Ireland see off injury-hit Italy

Two tries from Caelan Doris helped Ireland kick off their Rugby World Cup warm-up schedule with a 33-17 victory over Italy at the Aviva Stadium.

Doris scored a try in both halves that was added to by Dave Kilcoyne’s early crossing, with Stuart McCloskey and Cian Healy also going over in Dublin.

Italy’s tries came from Lorenzo Pani and Tommaso Menoncello, but injury concerns over Marco Riccioni and Menoncello further soured the defeat.

However, it wasn’t just Italy with injury worries as Jack Conan, Jimmy O’Brien and Craig Casey were replaced in what looked precautionary moves.

An experimental side missing a host of rested stars, in addition to suspended skipper Johnny Sexton, overcame a sloppy beginning to cruise to a 15th successive home victory.

Ireland were back in action for the first time since clinching the Grand Slam against England in March.

Andy Farrell retained only three of the players who began that day as part of an unfamiliar XV, while Italy included England-born debutants Paolo Odogwu and Dino Lamb in a strong selection.

The Aviva Stadium was far from full for the late kick-off and Ireland’s sluggish start, during which Tommaso Allan’s early penalty put the visitors ahead, initially did little to enhance the subdued atmosphere.

Italy lost Saracens prop Riccioni to injury inside 10 minutes and that setback was quickly compounded by Kilcoyne burrowing over at the other end to register his first Test try since November 2014.

The score settled Ireland down to an extent and they capitalised on Italian indiscipline to stretch the scoreboard just before the half-hour mark.

Doris claimed the second try of the evening, crashing over wide on the right, moments after Azzurri loosehead Danilo Fischetti was sin-binned for failing to retreat.

Conan’s 35th-minute departure was an unwelcome sight for Farrell but the hosts’ performance continued to improve, with man-of-the-match Doris proving to be a real menace.

The Leinster man, selected in the unfamiliar position of openside flanker, produced a crushing tackle on Stephen Varney deep inside Italian territory to pave the way for McCloskey to power over.

Jack Crowley landed his third conversion of the evening to make it 21-3 at the interval.

Farrell shuffled his pack slightly for the restart, introducing the uncapped Ciaran Frawley at fly-half and pushing Crowley to full-back in place of the withdrawn O’Brien, who had received treatment on a shoulder issue.

A further change was required just four minutes later as scrum-half Casey followed Conan and O’Brien into the treatment room.

Italy, whose only Dublin success came in 1997, had struggled for territory in the opening period.

☘️🇮🇹 Five-try Ireland prove too strong for Italy in Dublin. #IREvITA pic.twitter.com/P8X8P7OS8m

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 5, 2023

But, on the back of some cheap penalties conceded by Ireland, they reduced their deficit in the 51st minute when Pani was afforded yards of space on the right to charge forward and hold off the attempts of Jacob Stockdale.

Replacement prop Healy then celebrated moving level with Rory Best as Ireland’s third most-capped player on 124 appearances with his 12th international try.

Menoncello again reduced the arrears for Italy 12 minutes from time before the impressive Doris had the final say.

Scotland fight back to beat Italy in Rugby World Cup warm-up game

Scotland battled back from 6-5 down to overcome Italy 25-13 in their Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture at Murrayfield on Saturday.

A try in each half from wing Darcy Graham proved decisive in the end result while replacement back-row Josh Bayliss added a third late in the game.

Former Munster and Ireland age-grade star Ben Healy chipped in with 10 points off the tee in an assured performance in his first Test start at fly-half.

Italy’s only try scorer on the day was Monty Ioane, with Tommaso Allan kicking the conversion and two penalty goals as the Azzurri suffered a defeat.

Graham was one of the few established starters in Gregor Townsend’s XV as he allowed several of his key players the weekend off ahead of the upcoming double-header against World Cup hosts France.

Glasgow centre Stafford McDowall was given his international debut while Glasgow prop Murphy Walker and Edinburgh fly-half Healy – both previously capped – made their first starts.

It looked like it might be a difficult afternoon for the Scots when the visitors instantly got themselves on the front foot and had their hosts penned inside their own half for the opening five minutes.

However, the hosts burst into life after six minutes when Healy, working off a turnover, kicked a ball into space for Graham to chase down but the rapid Edinburgh wing was thwarted by some impressive defending just as he looked set to get himself clear.

The same two players combined as the hosts made the breakthrough in the 13th minute.  Healy again kicked wide to the right, picking out Graham who was already beyond the try-line as he received the ball before helping himself to a straightforward touchdown.  Healy was unable to add the extras as his conversion attempt went wide.

However, the Azzurri managed to get themselves in front by half-time courtesy of a couple of penalties from Allan, the Harlequins fly-half who has a Scottish father as well as an uncle capped nine times by Scotland in the early 1990s.

Allan reduced the deficit with a close-range effort in the 26th minute and then in the last action of a largely underwhelming first half the number 10 sent another kick soaring between the posts from inside Scotland’s 10-metre line.

Scotland got themselves back in front eight minutes after the interval when Healy pinged over a penalty.  And in the 55th minute, Graham scored his second try of the match when he received a reverse pass from Ali Price and bounded over the line.  Healy was accurate with the conversion as the Scots opened up a 15-6 advantage.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Josh Bayliss with a lovely finish out wide for Scotland. #SCOvITA pic.twitter.com/t41k7oWmgf

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) July 29, 2023

Italy got back into the match just after the hour, however, when Ioane went over on the left after a lovely pass from Allan, who duly converted.

Leicester lock Cam Henderson became the second Scotland debutant of the afternoon when he replaced Scott Cummings and the hosts regained control when Healy kicked another penalty in the 74th minute.

The Scots finished on a high note, with substitute Bayliss scoring his first international try – converted by the impressive Healy – in the last action of the match.

Blair Kinghorn hat-trick helps Scotland edge past battling Italy

A hat-trick from Blair Kinghorn helped secure Scotland a 26-14 bonus-point victory over Italy in their Six Nations clash at Murrayfield.

The scoreline might suggest a fairly comfortable win for the Scots but it was far from it as Italy pushed their hosts until the final whistle on Saturday.

With the clock almost in the red and Scotland leading 19-14, Italy were banging on the home team’s try-line before a breakaway added gloss to the win.

Kinghorn‘s hat-trick score was part of four tries from Gregor Townsend’s men on the day, with Duhan van der Merwe claiming the opening crossing.

Tommaso Allan went over for Italy’s only try of the game as they finish the Six Nations in last spot, but will take plenty of positives from the campaign.

Italy had a chance to get the scoreboard ticking when they awarded a penalty on the 10-metre line in the fourth minute but Allan ― who was born in Scotland ― saw his kick drift just left of the posts.

Four minutes later, however, Allan got the Azzurri off the mark when he kicked a penalty from the 22.

The Scots sparked into life in the 13th minute when Van der Merwe received an offload from Huw Jones wide on the left and did superbly to ride the challenge of Paolo Garbisi and plant the ball down just inside the touchline.  Kinghorn was wide with his conversion attempt.

The Italians managed to get their noses back in front three minutes later when Allan scored another penalty.

The visitors were forced into a change in the 23rd minute when Edoardo Iachizzi went off injured and was replaced by Niccolo Cannone.

Six minutes later, they suffered a further blow when prop Danilo Fischetti was shown a yellow card for repeated scrum infringements by the Italian front-row.  Winger Simone Gesi was temporarily sacrificed as Pietro Ceccarelli was introduced from the bench to reinforce the front-row.

Scotland made the extra man count within a matter of seconds as Ben White took the ball from the base of the scrum, carried forward and played in Kinghorn, who spotted a gap and dived over.  The number 10 duly converted his own try.

The hosts continued on the front foot early in the second half and Kinghorn got himself a second try just four minutes after the restart following another assist by White.  The try-scorer again added the extras.

Just as Scotland looked in full control, however, Italy got themselves back in the match when Allan bounded over for a well-executed try on the left.  The try-scorer missed then missed the chance to bring the Azzurri within a converted try of victory when he fluffed his conversion attempt.

😲 Some way to seal the win. Brilliant try! 👏#GuinnessSixNations #SCOvITApic.twitter.com/qNfKFowQa0

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) March 18, 2023

But four minutes later, team-mate Garbisi took over kicking duties and sent a penalty soaring between the posts from just outside the 10-metre line to reduce the deficit to just five points.

Italy piled on the pressure in the closing stages and looked like they might be about to force a victory before Scotland broke away in the last action of the match, with Kinghorn racing gleefully behind the posts after being handed a clear run by Van der Merwe.  The number 10 capped a memorable afternoon for himself with a close-range conversion.

Wales claim bonus-point win over wasteful Italy in Rome

Wales picked up their first victory of the 2023 Six Nations campaign after they beat Italy 29-17 in Rome, exacting revenge for last year’s defeat.

Tries from Rio Dyer, Liam Williams and Taulupe Faletau were added to by a penalty try as Warren Gatland’s men secured a priceless bonus point win.

Sebastian Negri and Ignacio Brex crossed in defeat for Italy, who will lament a series of costly errors as it was a wasteful performance from the hosts.

Wales head to Paris next for a Six Nations appointment with France and, while that assignment is a daunting one, they can at least travel with a degree of confidence after claiming a first win since Gatland returned for his second stint as head coach.

Gatland made six changes to the side beaten by England last time out, with scrum-half Rhys Webb handed a first Test start since October 2020, while there were also call-ups for Liam Williams, Dyer, Wyn Jones, Dafydd Jenkins and Jac Morgan.

Italy were without injured playmaker Ange Capuozzo, so Harlequins fly-half Tommaso Allan featured at full-back in a solitary switch following the Azzurri’s battling display against Ireland two weeks ago.

Wales started brightly in glorious conditions, creating quick possession and looking to attack in wide channels before fly-half Owen Williams kicked them ahead through a sixth-minute penalty.

Italy looked lethargic and nervous in comparison and Wales extended their lead with a ninth-minute try.

Webb kicked over the top of Italy’s defence and Dyer made the most of a kind bounce to gather before sprinting over.  Williams’ conversion opened up a 10-0 lead and the visitors were off to a flying start.

Italy needed a response and it arrived through an Allan penalty after 16 minutes, yet Wales were immediately back on the front foot.

Their attacking game had a real urgency about it, but a second try inside the opening quarter owed everything to Liam Williams’ individual brilliance.

Receiving the ball a metre from the touchline, Williams beat five Italy defenders as he cut back inside on a stunning run at pace and Wales retained control of the contest, 15-3 in front.

Italy tested Wales via a long-range counter-attack, but they were denied a try by Owen Williams’ superb tackle on Brex.

Williams then kicked Wales deep into the Italian 22 and a powerful lineout drive resulted in Italy illegally collapsing a maul.

Referee Damon Murphy awarded Wales a penalty try and yellow-carded Italy number eight Lorenzo Cannone, with the visitors taking a 22-3 lead into half-time.

Italy served notice of their quality by scoring a try just three minutes after the restart when Allan’s clever kick into space was collected by Negri, who finished strongly.

Allan’s conversion cut the deficit to 12 points, but Italy then saw a second player yellow-carded after wing Pierre Bruno led with his arm into Wales prop Jones’ throat.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Rhys Webb has been excellent today. #GuinnessSixNations #ITAvWAL pic.twitter.com/zi3pGEdRPP

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) March 11, 2023

And Wales punished their hosts when Webb broke clear and delivered a scoring pass to Faletau, with Williams’ conversion opening up a 29-10 lead and securing a bonus point.

Liam Williams was forced off injured 19 minutes from time, being replaced by George North, with North’s fellow replacement Louis Rees-Zammit moving to full-back.

Italy, despite their deficit, had not given up the ghost and they claimed a second try after 67 minutes.

Bruno ran strongly at the heart of Wales’ defence and support runner Brex finished off the move, with Allan’s conversion making it 29-17, but that was as close as Italy could get.

Ireland claim third maximum but pushed all the way by Italy

Ireland avoided a shock result at the hands of a confident Italy as they came out on top in Rome, winning the Six Nations clash 34-20 in Rome.

Crossings from James Ryan, Hugo Keenan, Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen (2) were added to by nine points from the boot of Ross Byrne on Saturday.

Stephen Varney and Pierre Bruno went over for Italy while Paolo Garbisi kicked 10 points in an impressive performance from the improving Azzurri.

In-form Ireland arrived in the Italian capital seeking a third consecutive tournament success but without a host of star names due to injury.

Swathes of green jerseys packed the terraces and witnessed a side steered by rookie half-back pairing Byrne and Craig Casey make a blistering start.

James Lowe, who benefited from a favourable call to claim a try in the 32-19 win over France a fortnight ago, was denied a quick-fire score on this occasion as replays showed he dropped the ball just before grounding with a one-handed finish under pressure from Ange Capuozzo.

Yet Irish disappointment was swiftly tempered by stand-in skipper Ryan capitalising on a Lowe assist following a fine Aki offload to cross inside three minutes.

Italy have not won at home in the Six Nations since a shock 22-15 success over Declan Kidney’s Ireland a decade ago.

Sparked by the mercurial talents of fit-again fly-half Garbisi and rapid full-back Capuozzo, they contributed to a thrilling encounter and quickly hit back as Wales-born scrum-half Varney sneaked over following strong running from Lorenzo Cannone.

Ireland full-back Keenan then wriggled through a host of tackles to dive over before Aki, who was instrumental in his side’s opening two tries, burst clear to stretch the scoreboard midway through a breathless first half after a Garbisi penalty briefly reduced the deficit.

Following a temporary lull during which Casey recovered from being flattened by Italian lock Niccolo Cannone and prop Finlay Bealham departed injured, Andy Farrell’s men had the bonus-point wrapped with only 35 minutes on the clock when Hansen dived over wide on the right at the end of sustained pressure to help subdue home support.

But the visitors had little time to enjoy the cushion as their advantage was halved to seven points with the final action of a gripping opening period.

Italy wing Bruno superbly intercepted Aki’s pass in his own half and darted around 70 metres to put the contest firmly back in the balance and ignite fresh optimism among Azzurri fans.

🇮🇹☘️ Job done for Ireland but it wasn't easy against Italy. #IREvITA pic.twitter.com/97ciPW0iCZ

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 25, 2023

Another Garbisi penalty cut the lead to 24-20 and Farrell cut a concerned figure in the stands after Aki was denied a second score of the afternoon as replays showed he lost possession on the ground before regathering.

A Byrne penalty helped steady the nerves before Hansen slipped through the Italian defensive line nine minutes from time to ensure Ireland claimed a precious, albeit unconvincing, victory.