Rugby: Italy deludes itself, Argentina passes in Genoa

Italy tries, they hope, but they waste a lot, even badly in the opportunity they had to overtake at the last minute, and so they find themselves suffering their fifth consecutive defeat in the Nations Championship against Argentina, the sixth if we include the defeat in Wales in the last match of the last Six Nations.

The Azzurri were defeated 19-14 by the 'Ferraris' of Genoa after a hard-fought match: dominant in the melee and soon in the lead, they suffered an equalizer from the Pumas just before the 40th minute (7-7 at half-time) and two more tries in the second half, then made up for it with a technical try, but despite the final assault the result did not change. To avoid losing out in the tournament, the national team led by Gonzalo Quesada will have to make up for it next Saturday in Udine against Fiji on the last day of the group stage.

For the Italy coach, the first half was the decisive turning point: "Between the 20th and 30th minute we had to crush them but we weren't ruthless and instead gave them the chance, with a few errors, especially in the melee, to get back into the game. The key was there", explains Quesada, who then gives a positive interpretation of the performance. "We did a great job, with an impressive level of determination and character - he continues -. We created the conditions to beat Argentina, and it wasn't a given. We managed to find spaces and almost never come under pressure when they had possession. Everything we had prepared, the basis of the match, worked and so knowing that with 30'' from the end we could win, it hurts. We had the tools to do it, but we let the opportunity pass by. We're still missing something, we need to be more solid."

Quesada then broadened his gaze to recent performances, admitting that while the one against Australia (lost 10-57, ed.) "was an unacceptable match: they were stronger and the team was not up to par", instead "today's defeat is not in the same category. This is an important moment of the year, with many changes and rotations, to finish learning, because after that the Six Nations will come and the main objective, which is to get to the World Cup to try to do something important." As mentioned, the key moment came at the end of the second half, when Paolo Garbisi failed to find touch on a free kick that would have allowed Italy to regain possession a few meters from the Argentine goal line. Immediately afterwards, the referee blew the whistle to end the match, which had started well, given that in the 4th minute Monty Ioane scored a goal, converted by Allan. But then the Azzurri were unable to take advantage of their opponents' difficulties, not even when they were outnumbered due to a yellow card to Albornoz and conceded a goal from hooker Bernasconi just before half-time. The Pumas scored two tries with Isgro and Carreras (14' and 19'), setting the score at 19-7, with Italy halving the deficit with a technical try in the 24th minute but in the final minutes they were unable to complete the comeback.