Rugby, Italy not enough to put the All Blacks under pressure

Little more than a year has passed since the terrible 96-17 in Lyon, when rugby Italy was buried by the All Blacks in the World Cup. Many things have changed, if this time the New Zealand team, who were in practically their best form, had to work much harder. In front of the 41,000 spectators of the Allianz Stadium the guests won 29-11 (first half 17-6) but the Azzurri, in terms of determination and ability to stay on the field, definitely convinced. The public liked it, warming up over and over again, appreciating the physical and mental resilience of Brex and his teammates, rewarded in the final also by a beautiful goal by Menoncello.

A match with the men in black is always a special event, from the Haka onwards, but the fans who flocked to the Juventus stadium savoured the evening even more thanks to Italy's performance. It could be said that New Zealand were subdued compared to the recent matches they won in England and Ireland, but also to the one they lost by a single point in France. At least in part, however, this was due to the fact that the home team used the most typical weapon of the underdog: pressure.
Because as long as you can stifle the opponent's initiative with a constant and effective presence at the meeting points, you make life difficult even for the best. In the first half the All Blacks went in goal for the first time after 24 minutes, retaliating in the 39th minute, while in the second half the score remained at 0-0 even up to the half-hour mark and the score count could have been 1-1 if we had not conceded one a minute from the end.
Italy did well in defence, therefore, and also in the scrum, where the third line was particularly outstanding and there was a good fight in the lineout. In the offensive phases, which were not lacking, the precision left something to be desired.

Says coach Gonzalo Quesada: "I am proud of this team, of the way they fought, of their spirit, their defence and also their organisation to get out of our half of the field, but we almost never managed to implement the game structures we had prepared. The Argentine coach emphasises the 17 balls lost and also - nothing new here - 'the enormous quality of the All Blacks both in winning and in defence: twice they found themselves in 14 against 15 having taken a yellow card, and in one case they even managed to score with a man down. The only time the numerical inferiority fell to us, we had a lot more problems'.

All predictable, after all. It was less normal that Italy was leading 6-3 after some twenty minutes, thanks to two penalties by Paolo Garbisi against only one penalty by Beauden Barrett. They also stole a few balls from the Tuttineri (a remarkable 'steal' in grouping by Ruzza with a beautiful reverse). But every now and then something didn't work, starting with the battle on aerial balls - with Capuozzo sometimes in trouble - and continuing with errors in transmission or control. In the 20th minute, Scott Barrett's misconduct on Fischetti cost the New Zealand captain a yellow card, but the visitors went in for a try shortly after, thanks to Roigard, who recovered a ball on the ground and found an opening that surprised the defenders. The first half ended with the All Blacks on the attack: in the 34th minute tackles by Ioane and Zuliani blocked Jordan, but the same fullback - then voted man of the match - scored in the 39th minute, kicking off an offensive drive thanks to a fine entry and then finishing it in goal after a series of advances by his team-mates. Italy were off to the best possible start in the second half.

First an invention by Capuozzo inflamed the supporters and seemed to pave the way for a try for Ioane, who in the circumstance did not have enough legs. This was followed by a series of penalties in their favour (with Lienert-Brown being temporarily sent off), but the various throw-ins near the goal line bore no fruit. Instead, Ferrari's yellow on 30 minutes was almost immediately "punished" by Tele'a's marker: a closed scrum won and a flurry of passes towards the other side of the field until the three-quarter winger's winning dart. At 6-24 the game was over, but there was an awareness that Italy deserved a try. And so in the 36th minute Menoncello, certainly one of the best, won an aerial clash with Tele'a and remained in support of Zanon who had taken possession of the ball: a magnificent underhand pass again for Menoncello and a signature sprint for the goal that gave Allianz the consistency of bedlam. It could have ended like that, but the Italian's attempt to quickly play a lineout in defence gave Beauden Barrett the last try of the match and of a long tour.The All Blacks honoured two men who were on their last game with the national team: former captain Sam Cane, who had reached 104 appearances, and scrum-half TJ Perenara. For the Azzurri, the awareness of being a team on the rise, determined to replicate the remarkable Six Nations of 2024.