Italy edge courageous Canada
Canada had Gordon McRorie to thank for all their points after he kicked 18 points thanks to six penalties.
"I'm proud of a lot of the things this team has achieved. We've got to understand where these guys are at and the how much rugby they've had. We'll come away from this Series wiser and knowing a lot of guys have stood up. The character and resilience of the team was excellent and they stayed in the fight right until the end," head coach Mark Anscombe said.
In what was a forward dominant game, with little space out wide, Italy's Gega powered over the line to give the visitors a 17-15 lead, after the only points previously had come from the boots of McRorie and Allan.
McRorie was flawless with the boot after registering 26 points in Canada's 46-21 win over Russia in their previous match, kicking Canada ahead 18-17 in the 66th minute but after Odiete's try was waved off after a knock-on by Guglielmo Palazzani, Carlo Canna stepped up to kick the game-winning penalty in the 72nd minute.
Canada had a late chance as Canna was sent to the sin bin with four minutes remaining but the hosts couldn't get inside the Italian 22.
"It just shows you've only got one or two chances a game and you've got to take them and at crucial times we didn't finish. They took their opportunities and grinded out a win in the end," he added.
It's the first time Canada has failed to score a try since its 2015 Pacific Nations Cup match against Japan. Canada came within a few feet of a try in the second half after a number of phases but after earning a penalty, Canada kicked for goal.
Ciaran Hearn became the 16th man to win 50 Test caps for Canada but saw yellow in the 27th minute for a tip tackle with the game at 6-6. McRorie and Allan would convert once more before the break to have the scores level at 9-9 at the interval.
"We all know what the rule is. When you've got someone's legs and they're going up you know you're going to be in trouble," Anscombe said of Hearn's yellow card.
The match against Italy ends Canada's Series with a 1-2 record but having outscored their opponents 86-67. After a narrow 22-26 defeat to Japan in Vancouver – where Canada came within inches of scoring at the death – they rebounded for a comprehensive win over Russia in Calgary.
"The crowds in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto that rugby is alive and well in Canada. It shows we can really play with the best in the world and it's a great advert for rugby in Canada moving forward," captain Jamie Cudmore said.
With more than 25 players making their Test debuts for Canada in 2016 between the Americas Championship and the Series, there's been a noted shift towards youth and depth in the last six months, ensuring the future of Canadian rugby remains strong.
"Looking at the crop of young players, the median age, there's some great young talent coming though. Against a fully professional side we ran them to two points. It's a really young and exciting group," Cudmore added.
Scorers:
For Canada:
Pens: McRorie 6
For Italy:
Try: Gega
Pens: Allan 4, Carlo Canna
Teams:
Canada: 15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (captain), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru.
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Paul Ciulini, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Liam Underwood, 23 Brock Staller.
Italy: 15 David Odiete, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori (captain), 8 Andries van Schalkwyk, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Maxime Mata Mbanda, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Replacements:16 Tommaso D'apice, 17 Sami Panico, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Sebastian Negri Da Oleggio, 20 Leonardo Sarto, 21Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Giulio Bisegni.
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Assistant referees: Shuhei Kubo (Japan), Kurt Weaver (USA)
@RugbyCanada
