Rugby. Italy-Romania 13-45, seven goals to one

The message we needed. Italy beat the Romania test with momentum, a 45-13 that clears the doubts after the stunted victory in Portugal and gives confidence to the last of the three summer tests, that of Sunday 10 against Georgia. One of the most popular teams in continental Europe, the historic opponent of the past decades that like Georgia claims a place in rugby that matters, is swept away by a superiority without discounts. The Azzurri take half an hour to measure a solid Romania in the scrum, as per tradition, but in the long run physically inferior and with huge holes in defense. He finished seven goals to one for Crowley’s boys, with many smiles, from the extreme intelligence of Ruzza to the personality of Alessandro Garbisi, from the legs of Menoncello to the direction of a newfound Allan, up to the good performance of Padovani’s captain. “An important match – commented coach Crowley -, after Portugal there were some aspects of the game that we wanted to see improved. It remains that we must finalize better: there were at least 3-4 actions in which we should have scored ”.

Suffering and spaces

–

Zuliani immediately makes it clear that he wants to play his number 7 card well by forcing a held. Italy does not trigger the maul, at the first placeable kick they decide to go for the touchline but Lucchesi’s throw is lost – it will happen again – and the opportunity vanishes. Romania has solid foundations: safe scrums and touches, linear play. Italy tries to move the ball more, wastes some possession (oversized cross kick of a Padovani, however positive) and in general appears not very disciplined. Vaicu signs the 3-0 at 10 ‘, and at 14’, on another blue foul, he takes the post from halfway. When it does simple things, when it seeks advancement, when it trivially finds a way to overcome the Romanian first line of defense, Italy shows a superior engine: at 17 ‘Menoncello breaks through for 3-5 (Allan takes the post in the transformation). Two minutes later, a forward by Fuser wastes a huge numerical superiority, Cannone commits a useless foul by giving Vaicu the 6-5 kick at 24 ‘, Fuser puts in his own with another avoidable foul. When at 33 ‘another penaltouche 5 meters from the Romanian goal is thwarted by a wrong throw by Lucchesi, it seems the sign of a bad evening, and a little later Allan misses an easy kick after a veil from Neculau, the signs of a bad evening. And instead Italy straightens it, first breaking through with Allan in the 38th minute (6-12), then with an incredible 50-meter ride Nemer-Lucchesi-Cannone, for the 6-19 of rest.

Alessandro in goal

–

In the second half Giammarioli takes the place of Halafihi. At 6 ‘Alessandro Garbisi – tidy and perfectly master of the role – takes the satisfaction of scoring on his debut in blue, as his brother Paolo had done in 2020 in Ireland: 6-26 after Allan’s transformation. Romania does not concede anything in the scrum, in the maul, but offshore the various Bruno, Menoncello (agility, power, reading of the defense as predestined), Capuozzo find space and the blue physicality is felt in the impacts. At 17 ‘signs the second goal Menoncello, who uses the assist of Zanon with a great acceleration along the out, after Capuozzo had been good at cutting a defender and creating superiority (6-31). The physical and organizational superiority of the Azzurri is evident, on 21 ‘Zanon breaks through after a prairie has opened to the blue trocar (6-38), on 29’ Nicotera scores on an assist from Albanese Ginammi, entered for Alessandro Garbisi just in the minutes in which his brother Paolo was seen in the field. Romania ends in 14 for a red in Neculau and at the end also finds the goal of 13-45, with Alexandru Savin.