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Gonzalo Quesada’s Italy blow Namibia away in Windhoek
Gonzalo Quesada’s Italy opened their summer tour to Africa in emphatic fashion, cruising to a 73–6 win over Namibia at the Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium. The Welwitschias faced disruption before kick-off, with Chrysander Botha stepping down as head coach and Jacques Burger taking charge for the foreseeable future.
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Wing Paolo Odogwu returned to the starting XV after a year’s absence, and it took the Azzurri just two minutes to strike. Referee Andrew Brace awarded a penalty try after the Namibians collapsed a driving maul illegally.
Namibia briefly clawed their way back into the contest, with two penalties from Tiaan Swanepoel reducing the deficit to a single point.
But Italy soon pulled away, establishing complete control with their backline dictating the tempo. Five unanswered tries followed before the break, with fullback Jacopo Trulla grabbing a brace and further scores coming from Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, and Simone Gesi.
Despite strong work at the breakdown from Max Katjijeko and Prince Gaoseb, Namibia were unable to break through the Italian defence in the first-half.
The second-half started much as the first had ended, with Alessandro Fusco darting over for Italy’s seventh try. Namibia continued to struggle in possession, with repeated handling errors and missed passes offering Italy ample counter-attacking opportunities.
As both sides emptied their benches, the contest lost some structure. Italy, however, kept the scoreboard moving. Mirco Spagnolo and Stephen Varney crossed the whitewash, Trulla completed his hat-trick, and a second penalty try rounded off the scoring.
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It was Italy’s biggest-ever win over Namibia since the teams first met in 1991—a commanding statement from Quesada’s new-look side.
Namibia will now turn their attention to the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup, where they face Senegal in the quarter-finals with Rugby World Cup qualification on the line. Italy continue their tour in South Africa, with the first Test against the Springboks set for July 5.