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James Humphries reflects on the result by email
“To run out a joke (or is it) Simon’s no doubt familiar with: when I die, I want the Scotland team to be my pallbearers, so they can let me down one last time.
I mean, did anyone not see this coming?”
The outpouring of hot emotion from the Italian players and crowd is enough to evaporate every molecule of water in the stadium. What a defensive effort at the end to repel Scotland’s nearly thirty phases of attack.
FULL TIME! A DRAMATIC WIN FOR ITALY!
The final carry from Scotland was held up by the immense Italian defence to end the game when the ball didn’t emerge!
84 mins. TWENTY-SEVEN PHASES! And they are into the 22.
83 mins. Italy do a fine job of holding Scotland between the 10 and 22 metre lines, but Turner breaks through for a few more metres.
82 mins. Twelve phases with very little more ground made. This is a great effort in the conditions.
81 mins. A maul from the lineout sets up a Scotland attack with the clock in the red. Half a dozen phases move them up over the 10m line.
80 mins. Scotland have a penalty and on the advantage spread it into midfield. It goes nowhere so the ref brings it back. Russell sends it up to the Italy 10m line.
79 mins. Italy knock on their lineout to Dempsey who swings his foot through it and slices into touch. Scrum to Scotland and they win penalty of their own that is booted out, but still in their own half. They have a long way to go to save this match.
77 mins. The time ebbs away, as do Scotland hopes as they spill the ball forward in their own half and the scrum is crushed by Italy’s pack once more. Penalty given, it’s 35 metres out, but Paolo Garbisi decides it should go to the corner to eat up some time in good territory.
75 mins. There is nearly a break from Turner from the lineout, but as it looks to be gathering momentum there’s a dispiriting blast on the ref’s whistle as the pass to set it off was forward.
73 mins. Sensible rugby being played by Italy as they take possession of the ball from the clearing kick. There’s a couple of carries around halfway before Paolo Garbisi angles a lovely touchfinder into the corner. Scotland look to have lost their lineout, but that was because Ruzza was pulling at Brown’s arms in the air.
Russell finds touch on the Italy 10m line.
71 mins. A penalty to Italy on their 22 after Millar-Mills is too keen at the ruck is sent to touch just inside the Scotland half. A textbook catch and drive is followed by a kick and gather to continue the attack on the 22, but as has been the case so often the ball pops out of a pair of saturated hands. Scotland will have a scrum deep in their own territory, and you can bet the Italian pack will being going hard at it.
“Afternoon Lee.” says Simon McMahon, “I don’t know much about rugby, but I’ve been following the Five / Six Nations for longer than I care to remember, and I’m not sure how many more fourth place finishes under Townsend I can bear. And even that might be optimistic after today. The rain in Rome is also better than it is here in Scotland, where it’s been raining non stop for a month, but half heartedly. The Italian rain is really going for it.”
Everything has more emotion in Italy, Simon, even the weather. Like an aria falling from the sky.
TRY! Italy 18 – 15 Scotland (George Horne)
67 mins. A catch and drive from the lineout is held on the 5m line by Italy, but Horne spots a gap on the blind side, races for the corner and uses the conditions to slide in from a few metres out with centimetres to spare.
Russell misses the conversion from the touchline.
66 mins. The positive aerial game for Italy has fallen away dramatically, with every hoisted kick being lost by the Azzuri. This is compounded by Scotland’s aggression and dynamism to win the loose balls, the latest of these is compounded by Italy infringing at the ruck soon after.
64 mins. The ball is lost in the Italian midfield and Scotland win solid possession from the scrum and clear upfield.
It has been confirmed that the Turner yellow card will remain as such. He will rejoin in the next minute or so.
62 mins. As the final quarter of the match commences, Italy have a scrum just inside the Scottish half, and the result is another penalty for the Azzuri who were driving the Scottish pack backwards when the visitors had eight players in there, never mind seven.
60 mins. A towering kick is fumbled by Ioane and Scotland are back on the ball in the 22. Schoeman is first to it, but the ball squirts out of Brown’s hands as he hits the ground in the next tackle.
There can be no criticism of people losing the ball in these conditions, it’s ludicrous out there.
58 mins. Italy have understandably decided that the best thing to do is just boot the ball away and dare Scotland to score more than eight points. The rain has eased a bit now, but the standing water is splashing everywhere. Marin is the latest to hammer the ball upfield for Jones to retreat, gather and kick to touch.
YELLOW CARD! George Turner (Scotland)
55 mins. Ah, it appears Zuliani was on the floor because his head took a clattering in an attempted clearout by Turner. The TMO is having a look and it appears it was shoulder to head contact, there was not a clear wrap of the arm, and this could be trouble.
Ref O’Keefe decides it’s a yellow card with a bunker review. Turner may well not return.
54 mins. A clever kick by White put up into the Italy 22 slips through Menoncello’s hands and the ball is won by Scotland amidst the cornucopia of mini fountains generated by every player’s steps.
Time is off as Zuliani receives some treatment, but he looks to be OK.
51 mins. Another scrum is marmalised by Italy, with Ferrari terrorising Schoeman into popping up. The home side commence an attack from the resulting lineout but there’s a neck roll committed by Lynagh which gives a penalty to Scotland.
In case you’re wondering, it’s still raining the entire Battersea Cats & Dogs Home.
PENALTY! Italy 18 – 10 Scotland (Paolo Garbisi)
49 mins. Ref O’Keefe rules it penalty only as it was a low degree of danger and Garbisi wastes not time and extending the lead from the tee.
That tackle is Ashman’s final act of a difficult game, he’s replaced by Turner.
48 mins. Dobie loses his orientation to place and catches the kick-off with a foot in touch, giving lineout possession to Italy in the 22. Lorenzo Cannone carries hard from a clever inside pass, but momentum is lost as the ball is held into the ruck for too long allowing Scotland to reset and Darge to clamp on the ball at the next breakdown.
But wait! The TMO has spotted possible head contact from Ashman in a previous tackle.
PENALTY! Italy 15 – 10 Scotland (Finn Russell)
46 mins. Undeterred, Scotland work their next possession up to 13 phases and into the the 22, where Italy are again offside. Russell decides the lineout is likely not the best idea and kicks three points.
44 mins. The third lineout in as many minutes is mangled by Scotland – surely Turner will be on at hooker very soon? – and Fusco can boot the ball clear from his own 5m line.
42 mins. Ashman goes for a throw to the tail that misses his man once again. The ball breaks to Garbisi whose kick is charged down back into the arms of Menoncello who takes off like a bullet train. He goes a full fifty metres before Jordan hauls him down and the Italy attackers are offside at the next ruck.
Ashman makes a mess of another lineout.
SECOND HALF!
Italy receive the ball and we’re back at it. Oh, and it’s hammering it down again.
It’s stopped raining! For how long, we cannot say…
On a day when the weather makes it difficult to play the ball has been in the air a fair bit and Italy are winning this battle, particularly with the chasing and leaping by Lynagh. Alongside this their centres have crafted or finished two tries that exploited a poor Scotland wide defence.
The score is a fair reflection of the half, but Scotland should reflect that time spent in the Italian 22 leads to poor discipline from the Azzuri and points.
The rain is likely to render the second half unwatchable from a rugby point of view, but the drama will be worth sticking it out for as this will go to the wire.
HALF TIME!
40 mins. The ball is chipped off the field to end the first forty.
38 mins. The rain is now like a visual special effect it’s so heavy, so Garbisi decides that possession is not a good idea and wallops an attempted drop-goal from 35 metres, that he pulls to the right.
37 mins. A scrum on halfway is absolutely beasted by Italy, driving the Scottish pack back into their own past. Penalty awarded, with very little conjuncture to the home side.
PENALTY! Italy 15 – 7 Scotland (Paolo Garbisi)
34 mins. But the advantage was still there and Garbisi tees it up and slots a dignity reclaiming three points.
33 mins. Nicotera finds his jumper at the lineout and on a penalty advantage for Scotland playing the jumper in the air they move a few metres forward in a maul. The ball is released into midfield and Garbisi goes for a drop goal from 15 metres that he misses horibly. It was bang in front and he had all the time in the world.
31 mins. The game is trapped in the middle third of the field for a period, with both teams running a couple before kicking to compete. It’s advantage Italy as the ref rules Lynagh was obstructed when chasing.
28 mins. More phases from Scotland that display some decent hands in the filthy conditions. But the ball inevitably spills and Italy can kick clear with Lorenzo Cannone putting his foot through the ball.
Menoncello does well to take the ball on the chase and he is taken in the air by Dobie, who mistimed his tackle and nothing more.
26 mins. The rain is now absolutely HONKING down in Rome. Cannone is penalised for not releasing in the tackle and Scotland are back on the ball in the Italy half.
TRY! Italy 12 – 7 Scotland (Jack Dempsey)
24 mins. Matt Fagerson pops the ball to Dempsey who shows some outstanding footwork in a tight space to step off his right foot and dive over from two metres.
Russell adds two.
23 mins. The attack is well into double figures of phases, but Italy are doing a great job of forcing it backwards before they drift offside. Scotland opt for the tap and go and Zuliani is this close to grabbing a turnover on the ground, but is a fraction late and penalised.
21 mins. Italy don’t bother contesting the lineout, but Ashman still fails to hit his man, the ball instead flopping off the tips of the fingers of a reaching Gilchrist. The loss is not terminal, however, as the ball is regathered by the visitors to commence some phases close to the try line.
18 mins. Some ball for Scotland leads to a penalty advantage due to Italy being offside for Lorenzo Cannone not retreating. Russell finds touch 5m from the Italian line.
16 mins. Each of the two tries have similar themes. One is that Brex and Menoncello are perhaps the best centre pairing in Europe, and the other is that Scotland’s fringe defence out wide is a mess.
TRY! Italy 12 – 0 Scotland (Tommaso Menoncello)
14 mins. Lynagh does an incredible job to chase, soar towards and grab a Garbisi up and under, and on the next phase Brex throws a long pass left to Menoncello in the wing berth to gallop up the touchline and ground it.
Garbisi slots the conversion
11 mins. A penalty for Scotland is kickable, but the opportunity is spurned with as kick to the corner preferred. This does not work out of the best when Zambonin climbs high to snaffle the throw and snuff out the attack, followed soon after by Scotland giving away a ruck penalty.
TRY! Italy 5 – 0 Scotland (Louis Lynagh)
8 mins. Menoncello has a massive carry off the lineout that is recycled quickly and moved to the right for Brex to dink a grubber behind the Scotland tackle line. Lynagh runs into acres of space to gather the ball and dive over for a wonderfully crafted try.
Garbisi bounces the conversion back off the post.
6 mins. The position is wasted by the visitors as the malfunctioning lineout show continues, the ball lost back to the Italian side. There’s some more traded possession via kicks as both sides try to find a groove in the damp conditions. Thus far all they are finding is a grumbling crowd at how poor it all is. But there’s a lineout coming for Italy in the Scottish half.
4 mins. Scotland have their first lineout and their attempted catch and drive is spilled by Matt Fagerson as he looked to set up the maul. However, Ref O’Keefe determines the reason for said spilling was an illegal early drive from Italy. Penalty Scotland and it’s sent to touch in the Azzuri 22.
2 mins. Dempsey takes a settling carry into the Italian chasing defence before White finds touch with his boot. Nicotera has his throw stolen at the lineout to put Scotland back on the ball for a couple of phases, leading to another kick from White.
KICK OFF!
Ben O’Keefe is today’s ref, and he duly blows his whistle to cue a long kick from Garbisi to start us up
The teams emerge from the tunnel into the mizzling air in the Italian capital, the noise is huge as the home fans sense the opportunity for a memorable result.
An early email from Jeremy Boyce
“Looks like an unsettled day in Rome, water on the ground so it’s obviously rained, enough blue sky to make a pair of sailor’s trousers and some low sun to warm your back. Great rugby weather, let’s hope the rugby itself matches, and an Italian win to upset the predictable form book.”
There’s plenty to look forward to in the match, as well as plenty in my preamble for Scotland fans to take issue with. Feel free to let me know about this and anything else on the email.
Pre match reading
Teams
Italy
Leonardo Marin; Louis Lynagh, Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Alessandro Fusco; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari; Niccolò Cannone, Andrea Zambonin; Michele Lamaro (c), Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Mirco Spagnolo, Muhamed Hasa, Federico Ruzza, Riccardo Favretto, Alessandro Garbisi, Giacomo Da Re, Lorenzo Pani.
Scotland
Tom Jordan; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu (c), Jamie Dobie; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Zander Fagerson; Scott Cummings, Grant Gilchrist; Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: George Turner, Nathan McBeth, Elliot Millar Mills, Max Williamson, Gregor Brown, George Horne, Adam Hastings, Darcy Graham
Preamble
A year that looks good for Scotland in terms of form and fitness starts with a match vs Italy in Rome. This could be seen as a decent way to ease into the championship for Townsend’s team, who enter the tournament with optimism for what feels like at least the fifth year on the bounce. Talented, experienced, mostly settled, this side has all the markings of a group that should be challenging for the title but history proves will likely finish fourth. Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.
This inexplicable frailty was demonstrated by this fixture last time out in 2024, when Italy came from behind then survived a late rally by the visitors to win 31-29; delivering their first win in eleven years. How the Azzuri would love the same result today.
Both teams have an open style of playing, reflected in this being only fixture of the opening round that features both sides with a 5:3 split in the subs. Most coaches are favouring as much beef as possible off the bench, but Gregor Townsend and Gonzalo Quesada prefer more craft in their options. This approach has earned some decent results for Italy in the previous two years, but less so consistently for Scotland. One of the many frustrations that bubble up about Townsend is inability – or unwillingness – to change approach in the face of the same performances and outcomes.
The tone setting nature of this fixture for both sides should not be underestimated; especially the visitors whose whistle and drone from the deflation of defeat will be audible in Inverness.
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