Rugby, Six Nations U20: Italy-Wales: 20-23. Now England for 3rd place

Italy U20 gives in the final to Wales for 20-23 on the third and final day of Pool B, thus closing in second place in the standings. The football of the captain of the dragons Hawkins was decisive five minutes from the end, to which the azzurrini were unable to find an answer in the short time available. Overall, a too frenetic and lacking in discipline test on the part of Italy, demonstrating how possession and territory are useless rumors if seasoned with little concreteness in the offensive phase despite some flashes of valuable workmanship. Five changes in the initial XV proposed by Massimo Brunello compared to the victory against Scotland, one of which was forced. In fact, captain Vintcent was out due to a muscle problem, who was unable to recover in time for the challenge.

First half

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As already happened in the opening match against Georgia, the start of the match smiles at the opponents, who after three minutes take the lead 3-0 thanks to Hawkins’ foot. The reaction of the Azzurri passes once again to the scrum which, after countless resets called by the referee, finds the right place to put the Welsh in difficulty. After three kicks in favor, the yellow to Evans seems to channel the game on favorable tracks: on the fourth attempt, Cuoghi opens to the left finding Passarella free to crush the 5-3, Sante however hits the outside post. It is the discipline that penalizes Italy the most which, thanks to an offside, still allows Hawkins to bring Wales back on the foot. Italy reacts again and with the pressure gets back into the 22 Welsh: from the scrum the oval arrives in the hands of Pani who pierces the Wales line and scores the second goal for the azzurrini, this time transformed for 12-6 . Another offside of Italy offers an excellent game platform to the guests: Tshiunza acts as a ram on the first attempt, Evans scores on the second, remedying the previous yellow with interests. Sante brings Italy forward with a placed, but the final time is all about the dragons. Pani intervenes on Andrew without the possibility of taking the oval, leaving his teammates outnumbered for ten minutes, favoring the Welsh reaction. Tshiunza collects the ball and crushes directly into the goal taking with him two opponents, Hawkins makes no mistake and Wales can close the first half with a 20-15 lead.

Second half

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Despite the numerical inferiority, the Azzurrini restart on the right foot, albeit with too much frenzy, deleterious in attack despite an excellent forward defense. Many offensive gusts, little concreteness, to the point that Wales risks punishing Italy at the first real opportunity: that in this case, the blue reaction is commendable, with the Welshs being rejected ten meters back by Cenedese. It takes ten minutes of uninterrupted pressure to find the way to the goal, after five scrums and another yellow against Wales, again at the right prop, but this time at the substitute Williams. The forwards also win this contest, Battara opens to the left and finds Cuminetti, skilled in beating two opponents before hitting the 20-20; Sante fails from a very tight angle, giving Monigo ten heart-pounding minutes. The Azzurrini try, but Hawkins’ foot still decides the dispute, with the Welsh who keeps his nerve in the final and avenges the home defeat of 20/03 on the last day of the 6 Nations category, celebrating in front of him. to a large group of fans from Wales.

The verdicts

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It will therefore be Wales to face South Africa in the final for first place on 12 July, while Italy will challenge England for third. France-Georgia and Scotland-Ireland are the other two matches that will determine the final placement in the U20 Six Nations Summer Series.