‘We’re still at the beginning’: Italy head coach sets expectations after Japan win

After a 55-21 win against Japan in his first game as Italy head coach, Plinio Sciamanna believes his team has plenty of room for improvement.

The Azzurre combined forward power with attacking flair to put Japan under sustained pressure as they began life under Sciamanna on a positive note.

After tries from Aura Muzzo and Alessandra Frangipani in the middle part of the first half, the Sakura Fifteen responded with converted efforts from Nami Asari and Asuka Kuge to briefly turn the tide.

In response the Italians scored 31 unanswered points either side of the break to take a commanding lead and put the result beyond any doubt.

Masami Kawamura did get a score back for Japan, although Muzzo completed her brace late on to cap Italy’s victory in front of their home supporters.

Ahead of WXV Global Series fixtures with South Africa and two Tests against the USA Women’s Eagles in Nashville and Texas, Italy were pleased with the performance but know there is still room to grow.

“It’s a big win with a big score, and we’re very happy with that, but we know we need to work a lot,” Sciamanna said at full-time.

“We’ve only been working together for a couple of weeks, so we’re still at the beginning of our journey. We need to keep progressing and improving our quality, especially as we look ahead to the next game against South Africa.”

Next week Italy will host the Springbok Women at Stadio Omero Tognon. On Friday night South Africa were 50-19 losers against Wales, as Sean Lynn’s team ended their 14-month wait for a Test win.

Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, who was installed as Italy captain ahead of her team’s first WXV Global Series outing of the autumn, was a try-scorer on the occasion of her 50th cap, and echoed the thoughts of her head coach.

“We tried to keep our style in the game and play a lot with the ball,” Ostuni Minuzzi said. “We wanted to keep the pressure on and play our rugby – the result was nine tries.

“We’re very happy with the performance, but we know we have to keep working and improving. We will continue like this and keep our heads focused on the next match.”