Rugby, Italy does not shine but beats Georgia

Danger averted, thanks to a second half in which - at least - Italy conceded little or nothing to Georgia. At the "Ferraris" it ended 20-17 (two tries to two, first half 6-17) and the Azzurri avoided a defeat that would have made the final part of a 2024 that was otherwise decidedly positive very bitter.

Georgia is always looking for confirmation on the international stage, not least to prove that it would not be so illogical to move up one floor in the rugby lift. And this time, despite the defeat, it cannot be said to have taken a step backwards in terms of ambition. Or, looking at the other side of the coin, it is fair to point out a modest performance by Italy, which was called upon to redeem the inadequate Udine test against Argentina.

The Caucasian Lelos are well below the South American Pumas. And the home nation claimed a clear supremacy in both ball possession (68%) and territory occupation (as high as 79%), as well as a better performance in the closed scrum and greater discipline (six penalties against, 15 in favour). But - and herein lies the problem - one-sided statistics were not followed by a consistent gap in terms of points scored. The first half was even embarrassing, with three offensive outings and two beautiful goals by the Georgians, while Quesada's men ended up against a wall of mistakes and bad choices, trying a few times to play out wide and trying to engage the opponent's defenders with high kicks that rarely created difficulties for them.
The start of the match was marked by the immediate injury to a shoulder for captain Lamaro (who finished his autumn commitments here) and by 20 minutes of fighting without moving the scoreboard. The first points came from the Azzurri, thanks to a Paolo Garbisi try, but in the 23rd minute Georgia set the tone with the most beautiful action of the entire match: a touchline won, two successful tackles and then a fast manoeuvre by the three-quarters with scrum-half Lobshanidze 'doubling' to set up Tabutsadze for the decisive dive.

On the half-hour mark, after a failed attempt from distance by Gallagher, it was Paolo Garbisi who hit the posts, but two minutes later Matkava punished an Italian offside and brought his side back to +4. And three minutes from the interval the situation worsened decisively: a great catch on the volley by the talented full-back Niniashvili who invented a slalom and discarded four-five opponents (certainly not impeccable at this juncture), then serving Lobshanidze for an easy try.

There was plenty of time to overturn the result, and indeed Italy made it. With difficulty, but it did it. Besieging Georgia in their own half of the field, and often in the 22-metre area, without conceding any real chances to opponents who were gradually becoming more tired, more foul and less lucid.
From the 8th to the 13th minute the pressure became asphyxiating, until Tabutsadze's voluntary "forward" interrupted a pass-meta, resulting in a yellow card for him and a technical try (seven dry points) for Italy. Another 10 minutes and the overtaking move arrived. Fusco, a scrum-half who had just taken over from Alessandro Garbisi, immediately found a way through for a few metres to score. The conversion made it 20-17 for Italy, who seemed to have every chance of distancing themselves again from their opponents. That didn't happen, either for the sacrifice in defence of the Giorgians, or for another unsuccessful square by Gallagher.