Italy knocks out Ireland, but Federico Ruzza also sees good things

A defeat that needs post-game reflection.

Italy ko’d against Ireland at the Summer Series, with the Dublin challenge ending 33-17 for the hosts. However, the Azzurri have both something to blame themselves for and some good news to put on the score sheet, thanks to Allan’s early lead and two goals signed by Pani and Menoncello. This was confirmed by Italrugby captain Federico Ruzza.

“In the first half they definitely took the lead and had a lot of fast balls,” Ruzza pointed out to the microphones of ‘Sky Sport.’ “We, despite some good defensive situations that we put in anyway, slowed the ball down a bit more. We then slipped into a few too many fouls and in the first half we allowed Ireland a little too many fastballs and too much possession.”

“In the second half it was a little better, but a few fouls at important moments cost us a lot. In this aspect we have to be a little more careful, because these are teams that take every chance they have,” Ruzza stressed again.

The Italy captain also dwelt on other bad news, such as the physical problems encountered during the match by Riggioni, Varney and Menoncello “Hopefully it’s nothing serious. Surely they are three very important players for us,” Ruzza said. “We know very well that these are obviously very tough matches also at the physical level and that something like this can happen. However, we hope it is nothing serious and to recover them as soon as possible in view of the next matches.”

Compared to Scotland, however, Ruzza saw an Italy not to be rejected at all: “We were more consistent in some aspects, such as the driver and the lineout. We still scored two tries, which shows that we can create good offensive sequences. We need to keep these good things and maybe still work on the breakdown zone and defense.”