The match ends 18-15 at the Olimpico. Italrugby takes the lead with tries from Lynagh and Menoncello, then the Scots come back with Dempsey and Horne, but in the final minutes the Italian defense manages to secure the victory
Italy’s Six Nations gets off to a flying start. The Azzurri beat Scotland 18-15 in the pouring rain at the Olimpico on the first day. A deserved victory earned in a match they led from the start, even if they took too many risks in the final stages due to overconfidence. Next Saturday, Italy will take on Ireland in Dublin in the match that will open the second day, while Scotland will host England at Murrayfield.
After a decent start by Scotland, Italy broke the deadlock in the 8th minute with their first attack: they held possession well beyond the 10-meter line, Alessandro Fusco pulled the ball out of the ruck and passed it to Nacho Brex on his right, who sent the ball behind the Scottish line towards the corner flag with a splendid grubber kick, where Louis Lynagh was first to pick it up and dive for the try. Paolo Garbisi kicked the difficult conversion between the posts. The interesting thing is that the Azzurri defend very well, thwarting their opponents’ attacks, who enter the 22 a couple of times but come out empty-handed. On the Azzurri’s second attack, Lynagh wins the aerial battle on Fusco’s high kick, the ball is defended on the ground and offered back to the scrum half, then to Michele Lamaro, who with a beautiful and courageous pass triggers Tommaso Menoncello’s run on the left wing, who flies to the flag. Garbisi converts for 12-0 in the 15th minute. In the 24th minute, after a long period of play in the Italian 5-meter zone, the Scots finally found a gap in front of the posts with Rory Darge, with Giacomo Nicotera missing the tackle and opening the way for the number 8 to dive in. Finn Russell converted, of course. There were some doubts about the penalty that led to the decisive attack, with Manuel Zuliani clearly putting his hands on the ball and forcing a hold, but the referee, New Zealander Ben O’Keeffee, blew the whistle in Scotland’s favor. Meanwhile, the rain turned into a downpour. The Azzurri reacted well, returning to the attack, and in the 35th minute, Garbisi’s penalty kick made it 15-7 at halftime.
Suffering—Scotland scored the first points of the second half with Russell’s penalty kick in the 47th minute, but Garbisi responded two minutes later. In the 55th minute, hooker George Turner, who had just replaced Ewan Ashman, shoulder-charged Zuliani’s head to clear the ruck and received the inevitable yellow card. With the field reduced to a quagmire and the ball becoming increasingly difficult to control, there was obviously very little play to be seen: this was good for the Azzurri, who were able to manage their lead and numerical superiority. But Scotland got back into the game in the 67th minute: Russell chose to go for a lineout on a placeable penalty, possession was secured by the maul, which was joined by the three-quarters, then scrum-half George Horne (who had replaced Ben Withe) broke away from the drive and sprinted to the corner. However, Russell misses the difficult conversion and Scotland remain 3 points behind. It is a thrilling finale, and it is very difficult for the Scots to get back up the field in these conditions. In fact, in the 77th minute, the Italian scrum wins a penalty just outside the 22: Garbisi chooses the lineout, but then the ball is lost forward. It was an ill-advised decision, because the Scottish scrum then wins a penalty and moves upfield. Time runs out on a penalty for Scotland, who manage to get back into the Italian half and then into the 22, until the decisive turnover won by the Italian defense 4 minutes and 40 seconds after the end of the game secures the victory.
