Italy edge past Japan

Italy squeezed past Japan 31-24 in a thrilling World Cup warm-up test at the Stadio Manuzzi on Saturday.

Italy scored tries through Matteo Pratichetti, Edoardo Gori, Leonardo Ghiraldini and Andrea Lo Cicero while young flyhalf Riccardo Bocchino kicked three conversions.

Substitute Luciano Orquera kicked the rest of Italy’s points.

Japan’s tries came from backs Takeysa Usuzuki and Koji Taira as well as a penalty try while flyhalf James Arlidge didn’t miss a kick all night.

Italy coach Nick Mallett’s choice to pick an experienced pack and youthful backs seemed to have paid dividends early in the game as the hosts carved the Brave Blossoms apart at will.

The first try on four minutes was all too easy as Italy probed left then went right with Bocchino, making his first start, playing a dummy pass and then slipping the ball inside to Pratichetti to go under the posts.

Bocchino kicked the extras and then on 12 minutes scrumhalf Edoardo Gori picked and went from the back of a ruck, ducked under two tackles and dived over line.

Again Bocchino converted but Japan settled and started to work they way back into the game.

They scored a well-worked try on 23 minutes as Arlidge’s grubber kick on the left wing was kicked on by Usuzuki who then touched down.

Arlidge converted and following an Italian mistake, Japan scored again.

Gori kicked straight into touch from just outside the Italy 22, Japan won good line-out ball and spread it wide right before Taira found a gap to burrow over.

After another successful kick Japan edged their noses in front as Bocchino hit the post with a penalty from 25 yards before Arlidge landed one from wide left for a 17-14 lead at the break.

Having let slip a commanding lead, Italy turned to their pack at the start of the second half and a driving maul resulted in a try for Ghiraldini, with Bocchino converting.

Japan simply couldn’t cope with Italy’s maul and from a line-out five metres out, the Azzurri drove diagonally towards the posts before Lo Cicero drove through a pile of collapsing bodies to score.

However, moments later Lo Cicero was yellow-carded with Japan five yards out and the visitors went for their own driving maul, resulting in a penalty try as Italy were punished for coming in from the side to break the momentum.

But just as Lo Cicero came back on, Japan prop Hisateru Hirashima was himself sin-binned and Luciano Orquera kicked a penalty, rounding off the match’s scoring.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries: Pratichetti, Gori, Ghiraldini, Lo Cicero
Cons: Bocchino 3, Orquera
Pen: Orquera

For Japan:
Tries: Usuzuki, Taira, penalty-try
Cons: Arlidge 3
Pen: Arlidge

Yellow cards: Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy), Hisateru  Hirashima (Japan)

The teams:

Italy: 15 Luke McLean (Benetton Treviso), 14 Giulio Toniolatti (Aironi), 13 Alberto Sgarbi (Benetton Treviso), 12 Matteo Pratichetti (Aironi), 11 Tommaso Benvenuti (Benetton Treviso), 10 Riccardo Bocchino (Prato), 9 Edoardo Gori (Benetton Treviso), 8 Sergio Parisse (Stade Français), (captain), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni (Benetton Treviso), 5 Marco Bortolami (Aironi), 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (Aironi), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini (Benetton Treviso), 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Benetton Treviso), 1 Andrea Lo Cicero (Racing-Metro).
Replacements: 16 Tommaso D’Apice (Aironi), 17 Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester Tigers), 18 Corniel van Zyl (Benetton Treviso), 19 Paul Derbyshire (Benetton Treviso), 20 Pablo Canavosio (Calvisano), 21 Luciano Orquera (Aironi), 22 Gonzalo Canale (Clermont Auvergne).

Japan: 15 Shaun Webb (Coca Cola West Red Sparks), 14 Kosuke Endo (Toyota Verblitz), 13 Koji Taira (Suntory Sungoliath), 12 Ryan Nicholas (Suntory Sungoliath), 11 Takeisa Usuzuki (Toyota Brave Lupus), 10 James Arlidge (Nottingham), 9 Fumiaki Tanaka (Panasonic Wild Knights), 8 Ryukoliniasi Holani (Panasonic Wild Knights), 7 Michael Leitch (Toshiba Brave Lupus), 6 Takashi Kikutani (Toyota Verblitz) (captain),  5 Toshizumi Kitagawa (Toyota Verblitz), 4 Justin Ives (Panasonic Wild Knights), 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama (Suntory Sungoliath), 2 Shota Horie (Panasonic Wild Knights), 1 Hisateru Hirashima (Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers).
Replacements: 16 Hiroki Yuhara (Toshiba Brave Lupus), 17 Nozomu Fujita (Honda Heat), 18 Luke Thompson (Kintetsu Liners), 19 Tadasuke Nishihara (Panasonic Wild Knights), 20 Atsushi Hiwasa (Suntory Sungoliath), 21 Alisi Tupuailai (Canon Eagles), 22 Murray Williams (Toyota Industry Shuttles).

Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garces (France), Pascal Gauzere (France)
TMO: Tony Redmond (Ireland)

AFP