Poms edge brave Italy
14 Feb 2010
England were unconvincing 17-12 winners over Italy in Rome.
After England’s surprise win over Wales last week, their critics had called for a more attack-orientated game, especially from pivot Jonny Wilikinson. Similarly, Italy had been criticised for their unimaginative style, but in the opening half the Azzurri were the more positive side.
No 8 Alessandro Zanni was influential and although they didn’t manage to score tries, their endeavour resulted in two penalties from wing Mirco Bergamasco.
England were unsuccessful in their quest to cross the whitewash but their best chance came in the last move of the half, when Riki Flutey broke from his own half, but was pulled down on the opposition 22. The Italians eventually snuffed out the move, but not before Wilkinson – who had uncharacteristically earlier missed two attempts at goal – knocked over the penalty to level the scores 6-all at the break.
Finally the visitors broke the drought two minutes into the second half. Slick handling from the England backs and then No 8 Nick Easter put Mathew Tait away down the left touchline, and his pace meant he evaded the cross cover to score the only try of the match. England began to dominate and the Italians began to wilt under the pressure.
Martin Castrogiovanni was then yellow-carded for a cynical infringement on their own line, but being down a man spurred the hosts into life. This 10-minute period again highlighted England’s attacking deficiencies and poor ball retention as they only scored three points, with the Italians dominating possession and scoring three of their own.
With momentum swinging in their favour, the Italians continued their onslaught and Bergamasco narrowed the lead to just two with nine minutes remaining. The home crowd truly believe their greatest ever upset was on.
Wilkinson may have failed to ignite his side on attack – again taking the ball deep behind the advantage line – but he did silence the spectators with a trademark drop-goal to restore the cushion.
By Grant Ball
129 Comments
14 Feb 2010, 16:29 pm
ENGLAND – Go you Dragons..
14 Feb 2010, 16:30 pm
what’s with these Poms? Why do they always sing ‘God save our team’?
chill it is only Italy.
14 Feb 2010, 16:32 pm
Broer – ***
14 Feb 2010, 16:33 pm
@RedLion: Bwahahahah…..Never heard that version before!
14 Feb 2010, 16:34 pm
suster?
14 Feb 2010, 16:38 pm
Gower, Geldenhuys nice Italian names those are.
14 Feb 2010, 16:39 pm
@RedLion: Mallet also a great Italian name too….
14 Feb 2010, 16:40 pm
Wilkinson scores…
14 Feb 2010, 16:40 pm
Let’s hope Johnny remains ‘unbroken’ for the rest of the match!
14 Feb 2010, 16:41 pm
3-3 Grrrrr
14 Feb 2010, 16:42 pm
Come on Italy!
14 Feb 2010, 16:43 pm
cmon the Italians…
14 Feb 2010, 16:45 pm
One pommie has a bleeding nose already:-)
14 Feb 2010, 16:46 pm
@poppa69: Why Italy Poppa?
14 Feb 2010, 16:46 pm
@Michael: did he get the actions of the haka wrong??
and Carol, the over reliance on an aging Johhny is going to hurt you guys come 2011..
14 Feb 2010, 16:47 pm
@carol: Any team playing England:-)
Italy have a Saffie coach and are neighbours to Malta, where my partner is from. That’s my excuse:-)
14 Feb 2010, 16:47 pm
@carol: its a kiwi thing, we all love the underdog… plus, as an added bonus, it would be fun to rile up Big Hit..
14 Feb 2010, 16:48 pm
@poppa69: ROFLMAO. Good one!
The forward emerged from a rough ruck with a bloodied nose;-)
14 Feb 2010, 16:48 pm
@carol: Johnny is still the best, yes he owns Carter.
14 Feb 2010, 16:48 pm
Dammit. Penalty 2 for England. Bet Wilko will slot it.
14 Feb 2010, 16:49 pm
@RedLion: Yup. Carter is Johnny’s *****.
14 Feb 2010, 16:49 pm
WWOOOWWWW. Wilko MISSED.
14 Feb 2010, 16:50 pm
@poppa69: A bit like the Saffas needing Percys boot to make them shine at the world cup!!
Amazed our broken Jonny is back on the pitch frankly!
14 Feb 2010, 16:50 pm
@carol: as much as I cheer for them Carol, I know England should win this and quite comfortably too..
@RedLion: hmmmm thought you liked kiwi flyhalves, havent you been singing the praises of the one your team brought?? hahaha
14 Feb 2010, 16:51 pm
@Michael: Hey Michael, to make your smileys work you need to put a space between the last letter and the : !!
So everyone is against me here Mmmmmm!!
14 Feb 2010, 16:52 pm
@carol: The underdog on the site, or should that be under-bulldog
14 Feb 2010, 16:52 pm
There is alot of facial hair on the Italian side…..
14 Feb 2010, 16:53 pm
and probably the ladies armpits too!!
14 Feb 2010, 16:53 pm
@carol: but Im sure you’d never boot Percy
must credit Johnny for his resilience and determination to come back.. a tough Englishmen, now thats an enigma wrapped in a riddle
14 Feb 2010, 16:54 pm
Wilko missed again from right in front!
14 Feb 2010, 16:54 pm
Hell, Wilkinson misses AGAIN !!
14 Feb 2010, 16:55 pm
@carol: Naahhh. Italian ladies are stunning
@poppa69: Martin and Wilko’s determination and winning habits are so unEnglish-like
14 Feb 2010, 16:55 pm
@Michael: @26, nope, if Carol had her way it would be the under-percy lol
14 Feb 2010, 16:55 pm
@Michael: Brian Moore is the epitomy of the English Bulldog….The chewing wasps face!
14 Feb 2010, 16:57 pm
@poppa69: I am suffering Percy withdrawal now…..He appears at the occasional charity golf event but basically I think he just haunts the Camps Bay coffee bars and runs erands for Tasmin!
14 Feb 2010, 16:57 pm
Baahhhhhhhhhhhhh
14 Feb 2010, 16:58 pm
@Michael: agree on the Italian ladies, much like Sth American woman..
Still snowing in the Cotswolds Carol?
14 Feb 2010, 16:58 pm
@carol: Egads. Moore had the face which only his dead great-grandmother could love.
14 Feb 2010, 16:58 pm
@Michael: Italian ladies, are they less hirsute these days?
14 Feb 2010, 16:59 pm
@poppa69:
really !! Heheheh
Don’t think I’m Percys type!!
14 Feb 2010, 17:00 pm
@poppa69: More snow forecast for this week!!
What’s it like with you?
14 Feb 2010, 17:03 pm
Nick Easter looks spookily like Luke Watson!!
14 Feb 2010, 17:03 pm
@carol: lots of rain and humidity.. and its been coming down hard too.
wouldnt know what Percy’s type is, havent even seen his wife.. though have heard she is easy on the eyes.
Italy must be making a good account of themselves, half hour into it and scores are still level..
14 Feb 2010, 17:03 pm
@carol: I thought Pietersen from the Stormers looked a little like a young Percy…
14 Feb 2010, 17:05 pm
@carol: Their proportions are lovely. Beautifully curvy. Same as in Malta.
@poppa69: Only not as tall and not as well built.
14 Feb 2010, 17:06 pm
YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
14 Feb 2010, 17:07 pm
6- 3 to Italy….
14 Feb 2010, 17:07 pm
6-3 up!
14 Feb 2010, 17:08 pm
Italy ahead, this could be worse then the loss to Argentina last year…
14 Feb 2010, 17:09 pm
@poppa69: The arrogant BBC commentators are strangely quiet now:-)
14 Feb 2010, 17:09 pm
@poppa69: Mrs Percy, attractive (and knows it)!!
Springbok Sarah has alerted me to the cuteness of young Mr Pietersen!!
14 Feb 2010, 17:11 pm
@Michael: @45 have had the pleasure of being in Italy, have toured right through Europe, spent the most time in Croatia where the woman are gorgeous…
14 Feb 2010, 17:11 pm
@Michael: What you mean Justin Marshall?
14 Feb 2010, 17:13 pm
@poppa69: I’ve never been to Croatia. I’ve been to France, Italy, Malta and Cyprus.
@carol: Nah, to the main commentators and not the bleached-blond donut.
14 Feb 2010, 17:13 pm
@carol: just googled her, and yes, she could turn down my bed sheets of an evening
she never misses a thing that springbok sarah lol
14 Feb 2010, 17:13 pm
@poppa69: Croatian women are partially lovely due to the complete lack of fast food outlets.
No McDonalds, Kentucky Fried etc…..So no huge hips!!
That’s my theory anyway!
14 Feb 2010, 17:15 pm
@Michael: I met John Inverdale, the guy who will come on at half time. He wore terrible shoes!!
14 Feb 2010, 17:16 pm
Miss miss miss come on, miss dammit. DAMN he got it.
14 Feb 2010, 17:16 pm
Wilco manages to slot that one!
14 Feb 2010, 17:16 pm
@Michael: Ive done England, Italy, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Lichtenstein, Belgium, the principality of Monte Carlo, Corfu (greek islands) and of course Croatia…
loved every minute of it..
14 Feb 2010, 17:17 pm
@poppa69: 55. Turn down your bed sheets….very funny!
14 Feb 2010, 17:18 pm
@poppa69: Clocked up a few air miles there Poppa!!
14 Feb 2010, 17:18 pm
@carol: its a lot to do with diet.. where my baba lives a lot of the produce is homegrown and of course they eat fish daily and there was always red wine on the table, lunch and dinner… stirring memories, last there in 97..
14 Feb 2010, 17:23 pm
@carol: yep… got the travel bug young, being fortunate to do the entire length of NZ instilled the explortion gene.. Africa and Sth America my next choices, then Asian hopefully..
half time, expect England to get a right bollocking from Johnson and eventually overcome the stubborn resistence of the Italians..
14 Feb 2010, 17:24 pm
@poppa69: Are actually in with a chance? Or are they surviving by the skin of their teeth?
14 Feb 2010, 17:26 pm
@WOLFMAN21: only going off the reports of Carol and Michael, but am now searching for a 6Ns thread to catch the second half… didnt think it would be anywhere near this at halftime..
14 Feb 2010, 17:26 pm
@WOLFMAN21: Should read Italy!
14 Feb 2010, 17:28 pm
@poppa69: Me neither, but I must say, I am pretty pleased by the scoreline so far! I’d be pretty happy if England lost this one. Would be a new low for them, and Johnson would surely have to go.
14 Feb 2010, 17:31 pm
@WOLFMAN21: I think its an indication that Johnson is not a coach, how one gets the national team without doing the apprenticeship must raise serious questions for their fans…
14 Feb 2010, 17:32 pm
Phew..Italy missed a kick!
14 Feb 2010, 17:33 pm
Try, Tait for England..
14 Feb 2010, 17:33 pm
@WOLFMAN21: did you find a thread to watch the game Wolfman?
14 Feb 2010, 17:34 pm
@carol: have England been pressing the entire game carol? or has it been evenly matched? I assume England have been camped inside Italys half for most of the game..
14 Feb 2010, 17:35 pm
@poppa69: Yep, it certainly is a case of reputation getting him the job and keeping him in the job.
Its not only a problem at national level though. There are a lot of ex players who get given Super 14 jobs without cutting their teeth at lower levels, and this doesn’t often work.
People like Naka Drotske and Pat Lam spring to mind here.
14 Feb 2010, 17:36 pm
@poppa69: We are lucky here being so close to the rest of Europe, however have only seen Africa on The Lions Tour.
Fark…Jonnie misses again!!
14 Feb 2010, 17:36 pm
@poppa69: I haven’t looked tonight, am supposed to be “working”, but I normally go on Justin tv. They often have a link running there.
Have you found one?
14 Feb 2010, 17:37 pm
@poppa69: Bit embarrasing, Italy looking quite useful except at their line outs!
14 Feb 2010, 17:38 pm
2 kicks out of 5 or 6 today for “the best” JW?
14 Feb 2010, 17:38 pm
So as it sits Italy 6 England 11
14 Feb 2010, 17:39 pm
@WOLFMAN21: was in the same class at school with Pat Lam… hes got to go this year if the blues perform like they did last year… stop gap solutions, rather then building a foundation, as the bulls and crusaders have rightfully done…
@carol: yes, I would enjoy being able to pack up and skip across 3 countries for a week or so.. long flight from Aus and NZ
14 Feb 2010, 17:42 pm
@WOLFMAN21: cant find one that is actually working..
@carol: as Big Hit says, its only world cups that count
lol
14 Feb 2010, 17:42 pm
Justin Marshall’s hair streaks are not good!
Note to cameraman, no closeups…
14 Feb 2010, 17:43 pm
@carol: Justin Marshall is a pretty boy, self indulgent ponce… could play rugby though..
14 Feb 2010, 17:46 pm
@poppa69: WRS and I off skiing to Italy shortly! Great food and snow!
Why do we give pretty boys in rugby such a hard time!!
Only players with fake tans need a good ribbing!
14 Feb 2010, 17:47 pm
@poppa69: Typical pretty boy rugby player though, starts his career with good features, finishes it looking like a Picasso.
Is Andy Ellis his love child?
14 Feb 2010, 17:47 pm
Come on Italy!
Do us all a favour here!
14 Feb 2010, 17:48 pm
Jonny down…ohh, up…and limping…he likes to do this to us!
14 Feb 2010, 17:49 pm
@WP_: won’t be doing me any favours!
14 Feb 2010, 17:50 pm
Jonny scores!!! Yeyyyy
14 Feb 2010, 17:51 pm
Italy 14 – 6 England
14 Feb 2010, 17:51 pm
OOps wrong way round …sorry
14 Feb 2010, 17:51 pm
@carol: It might just get you a new coach.
14 Feb 2010, 17:53 pm
@WOLFMAN21:
still, the picasso features has nothing on the cauliflower ears..
Ellis cant be, if he is he must have inherited his mothers rugby game..
@carol: food is excellent there… not sure on the skiing, but I studied art history at school, a lot of the renaissance period, so for that aspect Italy was one of my favourite places.. Sistene Chapel, Michaelangelos Dome.. just mindblowing…
14 Feb 2010, 17:55 pm
Visitors here, they better want to watch the end of of the match..
14 Feb 2010, 17:56 pm
@carol: dont answer the door for another 20 minutes or so
14 Feb 2010, 18:01 pm
cant find a stream to watch this match..
14 Feb 2010, 18:05 pm
@poppa69: Did you have a look on Justin TV?
14 Feb 2010, 18:07 pm
@WOLFMAN21: yeah, there are a couple but none work…
14 Feb 2010, 18:07 pm
Italy 2 points behind… damn, missing what could be one of the biggest boilovers of the century..
14 Feb 2010, 18:09 pm
@poppa69: Hope they sneak it with a Jonny Wilkonson special
14 Feb 2010, 18:10 pm
@WOLFMAN21: wouldnt that be retributive justice
14 Feb 2010, 18:13 pm
looks like Johnny landed another penalty, 5 mins.. cmon Italy.. snatch the game with a last minute try and conversion
14 Feb 2010, 18:17 pm
Baccckkk. Dammit Italy, snatch a victory.
14 Feb 2010, 18:18 pm
Bah. Defeat.
14 Feb 2010, 18:20 pm
marvellous effort Italy, shame didnt get the fairy tale ending…
14 Feb 2010, 18:22 pm
hard lines italy
14 Feb 2010, 18:28 pm
@poppa69: Funny no BH, he’s probably trying to find a kiwi post so he can knock it, those pom’s so sad having trouble getting past the Italians,I thinks MJ might be on the out if they carry on like that!!!!!!
14 Feb 2010, 18:39 pm
@Taniwha: very funny, I doubt we would have seen him for quite a while, he knows he would have copped a major shellacking… as Ive always said, the English ladies have more kahunas then their men, Carol was at least here until the last 20 when visitors arrived..
probably would have blamed the kiwis in the side, or the ref being in the Italians pocket, or it wasnt their strongest team, injuries etc etc
MJ is on shaky ground, doesnt seem to command the respect he did as a player, or simply they dont have the personnel, perhaps a byproduct of all the foreigners hindering local development in their game…
14 Feb 2010, 19:37 pm
@Taniwha: right here bud, seem to remember the ABs struggling past Italy
a win is a win, we take that and move on to the next one.
14 Feb 2010, 19:46 pm
@Big Hit: wasnt our strongest side big hit, we had injuries and for a change the ref was in the Italians pocket, hence the apology afterwards
14 Feb 2010, 20:01 pm
@poppa69:
you’d never hear me make those excuses
14 Feb 2010, 20:03 pm
@Big Hit: typing error BH. ;(
14 Feb 2010, 20:06 pm
@Big Hit:
14 Feb 2010, 20:12 pm
@poppa69: hey Pops, you watch the game. More likely to bet an unbiased view from you that BH.
14 Feb 2010, 20:17 pm
@TASSIES: Hey Tassies, was at work so I couldnt find a stream to watch it, unfortunately.
14 Feb 2010, 20:26 pm
@poppa69: you need to find a new source of income
maybe. Whats more important than the good game mate? 
14 Feb 2010, 20:30 pm
@poppa69: then again, I wasn’t exactly glued to the box either. Methinks Martin will be starting to feel the pressure now given a ‘lucky’ win against Wales(courtesy of Mr Jones’ brainfart) and now a win by a ballhair against the pizza-munchers.
14 Feb 2010, 20:33 pm
@TASSIES: cant argue with that logic, but one has to sacrifice sometimes for the overall good..
I mean, come next weekend I will be able to watch the whole round of the S14 with fresh steaks on the braai and cold beers in the fridge?
14 Feb 2010, 20:34 pm
Alien
14 Feb 2010, 20:34 pm
:Alien:
14 Feb 2010, 20:35 pm
@TASSIES: but watching Eng play would remind me of going down to my local club in NZ and watching the boys run around, what with all the kiwi park players in the side
14 Feb 2010, 20:35 pm
Ok ,that smiley is not working…
14 Feb 2010, 20:36 pm
@Blouste: perhaps without the capital A Blouste :alien:
14 Feb 2010, 20:36 pm
@poppa69: nope hahaha
14 Feb 2010, 20:38 pm
Ja.
I give up
14 Feb 2010, 20:44 pm
@TASSIES: yes, something to be said for actually learning to coach rugby before being thrown in at the deep end…
14 Feb 2010, 20:51 pm
Martin Johnson seems clueless.
Davies summed it up:Johnny Wilko is not good enough anymore
14 Feb 2010, 21:27 pm
Congratulations, England, a win is a win, no matter how dull. Poor buggers Italians though, I am struggling to imagine how they will beat Poms at last, if even these blokes with JW off key still manage to see them off. Do they really need total imploding from opposition (like Scots when they gifted 3 intercepts in the first 10 minutes) to beat dull but nevertheless professionally enough opposition?
15 Feb 2010, 01:03 am
@Big Hit:
Hmmm
I remember you were lauginh at us when we played the Italians,not funny now is it.
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