Italrugby, after the feat with Australia mission impossible with South Africa
Season opener with victory for the Italian Men’s National Team that at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine beat Australia with the result of 26-19 in the first of the three November Test Matches that will see the Azzurri starring in the Quilter Nations Series.
A match unlocked by Paolo Garbisi’s spot kicks that saw Australia overturn the result with the Azzurri showing a great reaction in the second half by scoring two tries with Lynagh and Ioane that led to the success of the team led by Gonzalo Quesada.
“We saw a beautiful Italy from the first minute. It was something we set out to do from the beginning,” said Paolo Garbisi in the postgame of the match against Australia, “and we wanted to start well. We lost possession a little bit towards the end of the first half making a few too many mistakes in discipline, in the meeting points going to concede a few more opportunities to them that, as a great team, they took advantage of.
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“We managed to stay glued to the score all the time. When the minutes go by and you’re still there attached, you start to believe. We made the most of numerical superiority in the second half and we were good defensively to hold up against the Australian attack. It was a brave Italy, quite accurate, with a lot of heart but with some things to put in place for the next game.”
“Seeing that we could hit on offense and that we were always close in scoring made us believe until the end. We continued to follow our game plan and in the end that paid off. We want to control everything that is in our control: the episodes that happen do not affect us,” stressed Italy’s opening halfback.
The Azzurri have already moved to Turin where from the morning of Monday, Nov. 10, they will begin preparations toward the second Test Match of November scheduled against South Africa – the third match against the reigning World Champions in 2025 – at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1:40 p.m. with live coverage on Sky Sport and Rai.
