Italy hammer 14-man Romania in Rugby World Cup warm-up rout
In a one-sided affair at the Stadio Riviera Palme, Italy displayed their superior firepower by hammering Romania with 57-7 in their Rugby World Cup warm-up clash.
The match began with Italy swiftly asserting their authority, with former England camp attendee Paolo Odogwu opening the scoring with a try in the 6th minute.
Romania hopes of making a contest of the fixture were delivered a damning blow just 8 minutes into the game when second row Adrian Motoc was red carded.
The Italians continued to pile on the pressure, and in the 12th minute, Monty Ioane further extended their lead with another try. Fly-half Paolo Garbisi added the conversion, making it 12-0 to the hosts.
The Romanians struggled to contain Italy’s offensive onslaught, and by the 16th minute, Garbisi extended the lead even further with a try of his own, followed by a successful conversion. Italy’s relentless attacking approach was on full display, and by the 20th minute, Ange Capuozzo added another try.
The Italian try-fest showed no signs of slowing down. In the 27th minute, hooker Giacomo Nicotera added yet another 5-pointer to the scoreboard. Despite the consistent pressure, Romania managed to put some points on the board through a penalty try just before halftime, avoiding the ignominy of a shutout, in an incident that saw Michele Lamaro banished to the sin bin.
The second half saw no respite for Romania, as Italy’s Juan Ignacio Brex secured a try just three minutes into the second half, followed by a successful conversion from Garbisi.
The Italians continued to exploit Romania’s defensive vulnerabilities, and in the 54th minute Toulouse flyer Capuozzo secured a brace, which was again converted by Garbisi.
The Azzurri weren’t done though. In the 66th minute, Dino Lamb added his name to the scoresheet with a well-taken try following a line break, further padding Italy’s lead. Garbisi’s conversion extended their advantage.
The final blow came from No.8 Toa Halafihi, who rounded off Italy’s impressive performance with a close-range converted try in the 72nd minute, bringing the score to an emphatic 57-7.
Comments on RugbyPass
Tamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
1 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
33 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
33 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to comments