Italy, a cold shower. Pride goes out immediately

The Azzurri rugby team leaves Scotland with a bitter taste in their mouths, even with the consolation of having fought with great determination until the end. The final score leaves no doubt: 31 to 19. The hosts took revenge for the defeat suffered last year in Rome but, above all, they confirmed that they possess great qualities especially in the offensive game. Italy, for its part, showed that it knows how to fight against a stronger opponent. It did not give up when the course of the match seemed inexorably marked and fought until the end to gain the defensive bonus point.

The Scots had promised a furious start. And a furious start it was. The numbers of the 'first half', the first half in English style, leave little doubt. For them three tries (2 converted) with Darge in the 3rd minute, Jones in the 8th minute (then scoring twice more) and White in the 28th minute. For us only three free kicks: Allan, Allan and… Allan author of three 'bombs' from about fifty meters. The Azzurri were never even close to the 22 of the home team who, on the other hand, were permanently lodged in our half of the field. Score after 40 minutes: 19 to 9, not too much glory for them but not humiliating for us either. Scotland therefore furious, but Italy still ferocious with more than 110 tackles in 40 minutes (25 for the Scots). At the start of the second half the match seemed destined to develop along a single script. We to resist, they to look for the fourth try and the bonus point. And instead the courage of the Azzurri managed to shuffle the cards for 30 minutes.

First the umpteenth sidereal free kick put between the posts by Allan in the 43rd minute then, just 2 minutes later, a robbery try by Brex converted by our infallible full-back reopened the game. And not only in terms of the score, 19 to 19, but also in terms of the game. In fact, until the 60th minute we were absolutely in the game. Then, thanks to an error by the Italian defensive lineup, Jones scored again, bringing his team back into the lead and, above all, confidence. Having missed the right moment, Italy gradually lost their ideal drive and lucidity, while the Scots returned to relaxing in their specialty: the wide game with its final half, scored in the 65th minute by Jones, always him: top scorer and man of the match without ifs or buts.

In the end, the changes from the bench that in the hypotheses of the eve had been hypothesized by coach Gonzalo Quesada as a tactical weapon capable of changing the course of the match did not have the desired effect. So much effort, so much commendable fight but little result.