Italy 18 – 50: Los Pumas hit half century in landslide Autumn Nations win over Azzurri

11/11/2024 04:29 AM

Argentina thrashed Italy by 50 points to 18 as they ran in seven tries on the way to victory in their Autumn Nations Series opener. Juan Martin Gonzalez performed superbly in a man of the match showing as Italy's disorganised and spluttering defence could not hold out.

In what was always going to be a match full of flair and chaos, Argentina started the better with an early penalty off the boot of Tomas Albornoz. It would then be Italy's turn to attack with some neat play from Ange Capuozzo.

The Pumas then recorded the first try of the match with an opportunistic intercept from Mallia. An audacious step past Louis Lynagh, who was racing back to cover, ensured he was able to dot down. Albornoz added the extras.

A period of Argentine dominance would ensure with strong carries to put the Italian defence under significant pressure. Bautista Delguy's dancing feet caused the Italians many problems. With Tommasso Allan's introduction into the game, after Capuozzo was forced off with a head injury, Italy were able to finally gain some sort of foothold. A world-class 50:22 and smart, probing grubber kicks were able to relieve pressure and give Italy an advantage in terms of territory.

Despite Italy's efforts, Argentina scored their second try of the match in a typically chaotic manner. Rodrigo Isgro secured the ball with an excellent catch before two handling errors from Italy saw Gonzalo Bertranou dot down.

Italy struck back, beginning with an exceptional turnover from hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi. The resulting penalty resulted in a strong maul, which Juan Martin Gonzalez collapsed, leading to a penalty try and yellow card. Mirco Spagnolo thought he had scored for Italy after breaking through a couple of tackles but judged to have been held in the tackle. However, Italy had a penalty advantage, which was duly kicked by Allan. Italy trailed 10-17 as the first-half ended.

At the start of the second half, Italy were able to clamber back to within four points after an Allan penalty. The visitors then increased their lead with a try from Joel Sclavi after poor maul defence from Italy. The Argentine pack was easily able to power towards the line. Another try for Argentina lived up to expectations that the match would be messy and frantic. An end to end try for the visitors resulted in Albornoz racing away to beat the last Italian defender and score Argentina's fourth try.

At this point, Argentina were full of confidence. Matias Moroni did well to break through tackles before the ball found its way into Santiago Cordero's hands. With great pace and footwork full of flair, Cordero danced his way to the line. However, the home side struck back only three minutes later.

Giacomo Nicotera commanded his forwards in the maul, which was a key part of the Italian's game on the night. Nicotera crossed through a simple pick and go. The main story of Italy's night was their disorganisation. This was exemplified through Argentina's sixth try. A short lineout throw ended with Matias Alemanno pirouetting his way to the line. To add insult to injury, Italy then received a yellow card. Lorenzo Cannone made a high tackle on Gonzalo Garcia.

Argentina further extended their lead through a magical try, finished off by Bautista Delguy. Sharp hands and strong running from Gonzalez put Italy on the backfoot. Bautista Delguy received the ball on the wing and beat two defenders to fly over to finish off the match.

Italy: 18
Tries: 2 (Penalty 32', Nicotera 68')
Conversions: 0
Penalties: 2 (Allan 40', 42')
Drop Goal: 0
Yellow Cards: 1 (L Cannone 75')
Red Cards: 0

Starting XV: 15. Ange Capuozzo 14. Louis Lynagh 13. Juan Ignacio Brex 12. Tommaso
Menoncello 11. Monty Ioane 10. Paolo Garbisi 9. Martin Page-Relo 1. Mirco Spagnolo 2.
Gianmarco Lucchesi 3. Marco Riccioni 4. Niccolo Cannone 5. Federico Ruzza 6. Sebastian Negri 7. Michele Lamaro (c) 8. Lorenzo Cannone

Replacements: 16. Giacomo Nicotera 17. Danilo Fischetti 18. Simone Ferrari 19. Dino Lamb 20. Manuel Zuliani 21. Alessandro Garbisi 22. Tommaso Allan 23. Marco Zanon

Argentina: 50
Tries: 7 (Mallia 10', Bertranou 28', Sclavi 48', Albornoz 56', Cordero 65', Alemanno 72', Delguy 78')
Conversions: 6 (Albornoz 3', 29', 49', 56', 72', 78')
Penalties: 1 (Albornoz 10')
Drop Goal: 0
Yellow Cards: 1 (Gonzalez 32')

Red Cards: 0

Starting XV: 15. Juan Cruz Mallia 14. Rodrigo Isgro 13. Lucio Cinti 12. Matias Orlando 11. Bautista Delguy 10. Tomas Albornoz 9. Gonzalo Bertranou 1. Thomas Gallo 2. Julian Montoya (c) 3. Joel Sclavi 4. Franco Molina 5. Pedro Rubiolo 6. Juan Martin Gonzalez 7. Santiago Grondona 8. Joaquin Oviedo

Replacements: 16. Ignacio Ruiz 17. Ignacio Calles 18. Francisco Gomez Kodela 19. Matias Alemanno 20. Bautista Pedemonte 21. Gonzalo Garcia 22. Matias Moroni 23. Santiago Cordero

5 Talking Points: Italy 18 – 50 Argentina

1. Ange Capuozzo’s early injury
Flying full back Ange Capuozzo was forced off after just six minutes for Italy. In what appeared to be a head injury, the Toulouse player will be hoping for a quick recovery as he is an important part of the Azzurri's plans.

2. Albornoz magic
The Argentine fly-half had a remarkable performance. In the absence of Nicolas Sanchez and Santi Carreras, he commanded his players extremely well and to great effect. A job well done for the 27 year old.

3. Italy chaos in defeat
The home side were less than impressive as they were thumped by Argentina. A lot to work on but particularly their overall organisation. It was messy in both defence and attack which led to their inevitable downfall.

4. Argentina carry on where they left off
Los Pumas' Rugby Championship campaign was something to behold, with incredible wins over New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. They showed no signs of complacency as they refused to take the foot off the gas against Italy. Seven tries and exciting performances all round, Argentina are turning into a formidable side.

5. Matthew Carly takes a fall
It's not often you see a referee getting smashed by men who are twice the size of them, but when it does happen it provides some comedic value. Carly had already been having a rough night as he had chipped part of his tooth, before being accidentally upended in a ruck.

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