Italy digs deep to down plucky Chile
MATCH REPORT: Italy closed out their 2025 Nations Series campaign with their second win in three matches after beating Chile 34-19 in Genoa.
The Azzurri scored five tries, a penalty kick and three conversions.
It was a courageous performance from Chile, who were very competitive against an Italy team that came out on top with a dominant scrum.
Italy immediately tried to put pressure on Chile with a kicking game and an advancing scrum, while at the other end the South Americans relied on the initiatives of Juan Cruz Reyes and Matias Garafulic, who threatened in the sixth minute by getting away from Monty Ioane and opening a nice gap in the middle of the pitch, but was then unable to find the right offload to keep the play going.
Gonzalo Quesada’s team held the field well and broke the deadlock in the 12th minute
A line-out won well by Federico Ruzza and the ball moved into the middle of the pitch, with Tommaso Di Bartolomeo absorbing two opponents with the ball in his hands.
Alessandro Garbisi immediately played to Ange Capuozzo, who scored Italy’s first try with a through ball.
In the 13th minute, Santiago Videla was forced off due to an injury, while Giacomo Da Re temporarily left for an HIA check, with Ignacio Brex taking his place and Leonardo Marin moving to flyhalf.
There was a fierce battle in midfield, with Chile responding blow for blow, then Marin fired up and made a beautiful break in the middle of the pitch.
The Italian utility back first got past Tomas Salasa and entered the 22, but was stopped by a powerful tackle from Alfonso Escobar.
At the other end, Juan Cruz Reyes harassed Capuozzo and Ioane with a dangerous kick, but the Italian winger excelled in recovering from a difficult situation and emerging from the 22 with the ball in hand despite the pressure.
In the 23rd minute, Italy threatened again with an advancing maul and then a fine run from Capuozzo.
A penalty was given with Da Re slotting it to make it 10-0.
Italy continued to dominate the scrum and returned to the attack, with Da Re trying again from the tee on the half-hour mark, but this time hitting the post.
In the 34th minute, Italy took the lead forcefully: Da Re found a great line-out five meters out, the maul dominated, and Di Bartolomeo finished to make it 15-0.
At the end of the first half, Chile responded by winning an attacking line-out.
The maul was defused by the Azzurri, the Condores mounted a series of advancing charges, and at the end of the first half, Salvador Lues found the momentum that earned a try to make it 15-7, with Tomás Salas converting.
Chile started the second half strongly, but Italy saved themselves with fine saves from Lorenzo and Niccolò Cannone, who held Pedrero up and earned the turnover.
Chile squandered a crucial opportunity in the 47th minute when Salas missed the kick that would have brought the Condores back within a score.
A minute later, however, Matías Garafulic matched Nicolás Saab’s pace with a high kick.
The Chilean forward beat Capuozzo to the corner, and Salas converted to make it 15-14.
Italy responded with a fine line-out won by Lorenzo Cannone and then with a charge from Michele Lamaro that forced the Chileans into a foul.
The ball went back to the line-out, and the maul once again made the difference, with Di Bartolomeo scoring the try to make it 22-14 after a strong push by the Azzurri, with Da Re converting.
Tommaso Menoncello, with a superb kick, put Reyes in serious trouble, who lost the ball when tackled by Capuozzo and conceded a scrum.
The front line again made the difference, with Italy persisting with a series of charges, and Chile captain Clemente Saavedra was forced to “expend” a foul that earned him a yellow card.
The Azzurri called another scrum, then Da Re exploited their numerical advantage with a nice wide kick, with Reyes doing well to anticipate Ioane and Mirko Belloni.
However, there was another advantage, and the ensuing scrum resulted in a free kick.
Italy played with ease, with Lorenzo Cannone charging through the middle, then Da Re played it out to Ioane, who scored the try to make it 29-14, with the Azzurri midfielder converting.
Italy continued to push, with Page-Relo making a great break down the left flank, bringing his teammates back into the 22.
Another free kick was played quickly with a charge from Ruzza, then Marin played it out well to Ioane, who tapped in the corner to make it 34-14.
Chile returned to the attack in the closing stages: Garafulic kicked a run by Saab, who was stopped by Marin and Da Re just shy of the try line.
However, Saavedra arrived and managed to score the third try for the Condores with a corner.
Scorers
For Italy
Tries: Capuozzo, Di Bartolomeo 2, Ioane 2
Cons: Da Re 3
Pen: Da Re
For Chile:
Tries: Lues, Saab, Saavedra
Cons: Salas 2
Yellow card: Clemente Saavedra (Italy, 58′)
Teams
Italy: 15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Leonardo Marin, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Muhamed Hasa
Replacements: 16 Pablo Dimicheff, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Giosue Zilocchi, 19 Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Martin Page-Relo, 22 Juan Ignacio-Brex, 23 Edoardo Todaro.
Chile: 15 Matías Garafulic, 14 Clemente Armstrong, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Santiago Videla, 11 Nicolás Saab, 10 Juan Cruz Reyes, 9 Lucas Berti, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 7 Clemente Saavedra (captain), 6 Ernesto Tchimino, 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 3 Iñaki Gurruchaga, 2 Augusto Böhme, 1 Javier Carrasco
Replacements: 16 Raimundo Martínez, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Matías Dittus, 19 Bruno Sáez, 20 Augusto Villanueva, 21 Sebastián Bianchi, 22 Tomás Salas, 23 Joaquín Milesi
Referee: Adam Leal (England)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Ben Connor (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
