Six Nations, Italia 'opens' in Roman deluge by beating Scotland

ROME - It also took a final five minutes' resistance as the Scots, starting from their own half of the field, came within fifteen metres of the Italian tryline. Twenty-nine phases of play for the visitors, and the Azzurri - despite falling back - continued to defend without committing fouls. The mockery, after having led for the entire match, was foiled by caging the opponents, making the last ball unplayable. On 18-15 (first half 15-7) New Zealand referee Ben O' Keeffe whistled the end and Italia could rejoice for an ultra-deserved victory, obtained with their heads and a not inconsiderable spirit of sacrifice.

The numbers speak for themselves: Scotland had 65% ball possession, and 69% of the time they played in our half of the field, but in the end what would normally be the preconditions for a victory were thwarted by the Azzurri, thanks to a considerable amount of tackles (188, more than double those made by the opponents) and an attitude that almost always prevented the visitors from making themselves really dangerous. Lamaro and co. did not have many chances, but they made the most of their chances. The rest was taken care of by the defence: although Quesada's team did not score again in the last half hour, the Scottish comeback attempt did not go beyond a goal scored by Horne a quarter of an hour from the end.

This 18-15 win was one of the greatest since we were admitted to the Six Nations in 2000. It was a match conducted in the scoreline from start to finish, under a sky that in turn was somewhat of a protagonist, unloading intense rain on the field. It was not a day for frothy, hand-to-mouth rugby, and the Azzurri interpreted their game plan well, often relying on high, well-calibrated kicks.

Two fine goals in the first quarter of an hour were decisive. In the 8th minute a well-thought-out sprint action, with the ball picked up from the ground, quick passing of the ball and clever follow-up kick by Brex: Lynagh arrived first, dived on the ball and literally glided into the goal area.

A somewhat presumptuous Scotland chose not to seek the path to the posts with "placeable" kicks, preferring to resort to throw-ins to be played in attack: it happened twice, in the opening minutes of the match, and twice the Azzurri line-up stole the ball. And on 14 minutes the second Azzurri exploit: scrum-half Fusco sent the ball into the sky and the winner of the aerial battle was Lynagh. The action continued with a doc pass from Lamaro to Menoncello, who 'only' had to sprint down the left flank. And this time Paolo Garbisi converted (12-0).