Six Nations, England too solid for Italy: in Twickenham it ends 31-14

After the good debut of the Olimpico in Rome last week, with the narrow defeat against France, Italrugby also lost the second match of the Six Nations 2023, staged in London, yielding in front of England for 31 -14. In the “legendary” Twickenham, in front of over 80,000 spectators, the Azzurri, coached by Kieran Crowley, had to surrender against the “roses”, in a very aggressive version, for the thirtieth time in as many matches. Balanced start to the race. Then, in the 13th minute, Willis scored the first try in favor of the English, who had started the match on contracts, due to the aftermath of last week’s home defeat in their debut against Scotland. Following Farrell’s successful transformation he set the score at 7-0. In the 23rd minute a tile for Italy: captain Lamaro was forced to leave the field due to injury, replaced by Giuliani. Afterwards, the Azzurri remained outnumbered, due to the yellow card inflicted on Lorenzo Cannone, and the English, in the 27th minute, extended, 14-0, with a try from Chessum and the following kick from Farrell. In the 37th minute the third try for the hosts with George (this time not converted by Farrell) and the teams at half-time up 19-0.

At the start of the second half, Italy changed pace and closed the gap in the 43rd minute: the score was 19-7 thanks to Riccioni’s try and Allan’s conversion. The response of the “roses” was ready: in the 50th minute the New Zealand referee Doleman punished the blue Ferrari with a yellow card (for another technical inferiority) and awarded a technical try in favor of the British (26-7). In the 23rd minute the Italians raised their heads: nice try by Fusco and goal posts hit by Allan for 26-14. Ten minutes from the end, the hosts effectively closed the match: 31-14 with Arundell’s try (with Farrell’s kick on the post). Good reaction from the Azzurri in the second half, played on an equal footing: shame about the first half, dominated for long stretches by the British.