Average Italians get job done
27 Sep 2011
Italy claimed a 27-10 bonus-point win against the USA in Nelson to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.
To reach the play-offs, Nick Mallett’s men have to beat Ireland in Dunedin on Sunday, and prevent their opponents from getting a bonus point. The Irish currently have 13 log points followed by Australia and Italy with 10 each (the Wallabies will almost certainly get another five against Russia).
Italy made the perfect start to their penultimate pool fixture when captain Sergio Parisse dived in under the posts in the third minute. They should have scored again soon after when fullback Luke McLean sent a grubber down the touchline, but right wing Tommaso Benvenuti knocked on in the dead-ball area.
The USA levelled the scores at the end of the first quarter when their backs got quick ball from the tail-end of a lineout. Outside centre Paul Emerick broke through two poor tackles and sent fullback Chris Wyles away for the try.
Italy were dominating up front, thanks to Man of the Match Martin Castrogiovanni, and a collapsed scrum allowed Mirco Bergamasco to kick a penalty, although that was soon cancelled out by one from Wyles.
With a bonus point for four tries non-negotiable, Italy put a kickable penalty into touch, won the lineout and a few phases later flyhalf Luciano Orquera sliced through the defence to score. Castrogiovanni then crashed over in the final play of the half to make it 20-10.
The Italian pack continued to dominate after the break and as the game entered the final quarter the USA conceded a string of penalties at scrum time, 5m out from their tryline. Eventually, the referee had enough and USA flank Louis Stanfill was sent to the sin bin.
The American scrum disintegrated again just before Stanfill’s return and the penalty try gave Italy the crucial bonus point.
By Simon Borchardt
18 Comments
27 Sep 2011, 08:10 am
i’m going for the Pizza Dragons!!!!!!!!!!!
27 Sep 2011, 08:59 am
oh oh…..
27 Sep 2011, 09:02 am
Go Bergamasco!
27 Sep 2011, 09:07 am
Nick Mallett wil end up like Mussolini if his Tier 1 nation loses to a Tier 3 opponent…
27 Sep 2011, 09:07 am
l
27 Sep 2011, 09:08 am
breathe deeply… breathe…
27 Sep 2011, 09:10 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-5: your best post ever!
27 Sep 2011, 09:16 am
@Staal(Staal)-7:
Ha ha ha hba h a freeeking ha ha ha
27 Sep 2011, 09:16 am
@Staal(Staal)-7: LOL!
27 Sep 2011, 09:35 am
affrontare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
27 Sep 2011, 10:30 am
That forward pass in the first Italy try was probably the worst miss of the RWC so far. Someone get that man doing the NZ games.
27 Sep 2011, 10:34 am
and that settles that!
27 Sep 2011, 13:24 pm
If I’m not mistaken this article has it wrong. They don’t need to prevent Ireland from getting a bonus point.
I think we can safely assume Australia will take 5 points against Russia, leaving them on 15 points.
If Italy win, they are on 14 points. Even if Ireland get a bonus point and reach 14 points also, they lose out due to the fact that they lost the game with the team they are tied with on points, dropping them out.
27 Sep 2011, 13:24 pm
From the IRB website:
Rankings at the completion of the pool phase:
At the completion of the pool phase, the teams in a pool are ranked one through five based on their cumulative match points, and identified respectively as winner, runner-up, third, fourth and fifth.
If at the completion of the pool phase two or more teams are level on match points, then the following criteria shall be used in the following order until one of the Teams can be determined as the higher ranked:
1. The winner of the match in which the two tied teams have played each other shall be the higher ranked;
2. The team which has the best difference between points scored for and points scored against in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked;
3. The team which has the best difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked;
4. The team which has scored most points in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked;
5. The team which has scored most tries in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked;
6. Should the tie be unresolved at the conclusion of steps 1 through 5, the team that is higher ranked in the updated Official IRB World Rankings on October 3, 2011.
27 Sep 2011, 13:26 pm
For that same reason the Boks still finish first in their pool even if they only get a losing bonus point against Samoa (Assuming Samoa don’t get the 4-point bonus)
27 Sep 2011, 15:53 pm
@wpjoulekkading(wpjoulekkading)-14: Who cares about rankings?
All that matters is William Webb Ellis returning to SA!
27 Sep 2011, 18:22 pm
@Hier kom groot k..(Hier kom groot k..)-16: Huh? It’s not about the rankings.
It’s about who goes through to the quarterfinals..
27 Sep 2011, 19:29 pm
Forza Italia!
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