ITALY
No.Name
15Luke McLean, FB
14Leonardo Sarto, W
13Tommaso Benvenuti, C
12Gonzalo Garcia, C
T
11Giovanbattista Venditti, W
10Tommaso Allan, FH
2
3
9Edoardo Gori, SH
1Michele Rizzo, P
T
2Leonardo Ghiraldini, H
3Lorenzo Cittadini, P
4Quintin Geldenhuys, L
5Josh Furno, L
6Alessandro Zanni, FL
7Francesco Minto, FL
8Samu Vunisa, N8
Replacements
16Davide Giazzon, R
17Matias Aguero, R
18Martin Castrogiovanni, R
19Marco Fuser, R
20Mauro Bergamasco, R
21Guglielmo Palazzani, R
22Carlo Canna, R
23Michele Campagnaro, R

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Elland Road
2:30 PM, September 26, 2015
Attendance: 33,120
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

81'Allan slots the ball over and Italy seal a 23-18 win. It is Canada who emerge with credit though, defeat cruel on the minnows.
81'+123-18 End of second half
80'Allan points to the posts, Italy will add some gloss to the scoreline...
80'+123-18 Penalty goal - Tommaso Allan , Italy
79'The scrum has to be reset for a second time, which plays into Italy's hands with time ticking away. Eventually they win the penalty and that should be that.
79'Substitute on - Marco Fuser , Italy
79'Player substituted - Quintin Geldenhuys , Italy
78'But Italy get a shove on and Ardron knocks on at the back of the scrum. Scrum to Italy, job almost done.
77'Ghiraldini goes to front and Furno tidies up after a spill. As the move is brought into midfield there is a knock-on though, and Canada have a scrum just outside their five-metre line. This is pretty much their last chance.
76'Another penalty to Italy as Canada fail to roll away. Again the decision is for McLean to kick to the corner.
75'TMO spots that van der Merwe has slipped into a tackle with Leonardo Sarto and taken him high. Penalty to Italy and the chance to put some more distance between them and Canada. Allan has kicked it to the corner to wind the clock down. Italy win the ball.
74'Canada are starting to rush things as Evans is smashed by Campagnaro to hand possession back to the Azzurri. Italy almost use to great effect but a knock-on is their undoing this time.
73'Michele Campagnaro thinks he's cantering over for the game-confirming score but the pass into him from Giovanbattista Venditti was a yard forward.
73'Substitute on - Harry Jones , Canada
73'Player substituted - Nathan Hirayama , Canada
72'Mack taps a quick penalty and Canada are off again. But as they encroach on halfway, Hirayama knocks on as a pass is fizzed into him.
72'Player substituted - Jamie Cudmore , Canada
72'Substitute on - Evan Olmstead , Canada
72'Player substituted - Gonzalo Garcia , Italy
72'Substitute on - Guglielmo Palazzani , Italy
72'20-18 Penalty goal - Nathan Hirayama , Canada
71'Hirayama lines up an easy three points and the deficit is down to two. Can the men in red launch one more meaningful attack?
70'Penalty coming for offside and as Kyle Gilmour is wrapped up on the right wing, Clancy blows his whistle.
69'The men in red almost inside the five-metre line now as Hirayama and Mack try to break through.
68'Hearn goes through a half gap before being tackled as Canada build once more.
67'Replacement scrum-half Phil Mack breaks through a gap for Canada before having the ball swatted out of his grasp. Was that deliberate?
66'Attacking line-out now for the men in red. They go short to Moonlight before van der Merwe crashes through. The ball is spread wide right where Canada have numbers but Evans' offload finds only space and MacKenzie is bundles into touch.
65'Penalty to Canada inside their own half as McLean holds on in the tackle.
65'Substitute on - Andrew Tiedemann , Canada
65'Player substituted - Doug Wooldridge , Canada
65'Drop goal-missed
64'Allan opts to take on a drop goal, but misses by a mile. That was the right idea just poor execution.
63'It's Italy's turn to attack, but Canada doing just as good a job at holding them out.
62'Canada's momentum breaks down eventually allowing Italy to clear long. Play will restart with a 22 drop out for the Canadians.
61'The Italian defence stands firm now though as Canada start to go sideways and then backwards as van der Merwe misplaces a pass.
60'Hearn and MacKenzie inject some pace into the attack as the ball is spread wide. Van der Merwe then drifts across the 22 before handing the ball to Cudmore.
59'Canada will be shell-shocked by conceding that try but they are not giving up. Captain Ardron leads their charge into Italian territory.
59'Substitute on - Michele Campagnaro , Italy
59'Player substituted - Tommaso Benvenuti , Italy
59'Player substituted - Leonardo Ghiraldini , Italy
59'Substitute on - Davide Giazzon , Italy
59'Substitute on - Kyle Gilmour , Canada
59'Player substituted - Nanyak Dala , Canada
59'20-15 Conversion - Tommaso Allan , Italy
58'In front of the Don Revie Stand, Allan smacks the far post with his conversion but it drops over.
58'18-15 Try - Gonzalo Garcia , Italy
58'Substitute on - Aaron Carpenter , Canada
58'Player substituted - Ray Barkwill , Canada
58'Player substituted - Samu Vunisa , Italy
58'Substitute on - Mauro Bergamasco , Italy
57'Try for Italy! The Azzurri finally get quick ball from a line-out and Leonardo Ghiraldini takes the ball straight back to sprint off down the line. Furno then takes the ball up to the line before it's spun out to Gonzalo Garcia to dance over.
56'Italy manage to get the ball out of the scrum and Allan takes no chances, booting the ball away. That's a sign of exactly how dominant Canada have been since half time.
56'Substitute on - Phil Mack , Canada
56'Player substituted - Jamie Mackenzie , Canada
56'Player substituted - Hubert Buydens , Canada
56'Substitute on - Djustice Sears-Duru , Canada
55'
54'Great work from Vunisa to win the turnover and Allan boots downfield.
53'The Canadians are playing at a frenetic pace and have the ball back again.
52'Canada are swarming over Italy but ultimately are undone by a knock-on, handing the Azzurri the chance to regroup.
51'Hirayama wriggles out of a tackle and suddenly Canada are back in the Italy 22.
50'
49'Just as Italy appeared to have re-grouped Canada break again with Evans and Hearn combining but the Azzurri defence scrambles back.
47'Player substituted - Lorenzo Cittadini , Italy
47'Substitute on - Martin Castrogiovanni , Italy
47'Substitute on - Matias Aguero , Italy
47'Player substituted - Michele Rizzo , Italy
46'The TMO confirms the pass went forward as boos ring out in Leeds, but Canada are full of confidence at the moment.
45'Have Canada scored again? We're going upstairs. The men in red have their tails up and another flowing move ends with Phil MacKenzie sprinting over but the final pass looked forward.
44'Hirayama cannot add a difficult conversion so Canada's lead stays at two.
44'13-15 Try - Matt Evans , Canada
43'Try for Canada! The men in red gain possession from a line-out, Hearn sucks in the defence and Evans exploits the space to race over from a way out. Another good try for Canada.
42'Ardron makes a good break before Matt Evans kicks right into the corner to give Canada good territory.
41'Once again Canada do not compete as Furno wins the line-out with Gori having to boot clear eventually.
41'13-10 End of first half
41'13-10 Penalty goal - Tommaso Allan , Italy
40'Hearn kicks off the second half for Canada and the men in red manage to regain possession.
40'Jamie Cudmore gives away a penalty, and with Allan back on Italy go for the three. Their No.10 slots it over and the Azzurri head into the break with a slender 13-10 lead.
40'13-10 Start of second half
40'Substitute on - Tommaso Allan , Italy
40'Player substituted - Carlo Canna , Italy
39'Italy finally get some possession from a scrum, Canna runs around the back but he's in touch before he can ground the ball.
38'Ciaran Hearn kicks the 22 drop out out on the full and Italy have an attacking scrum.
37'It has the distance but lacks the direction and the scores stay level.
36'Penalty to Italy and Canna thinks it's within his range...
34'Italy look to turn the screw as they take the ball into Canadian territory but Dala pulls off another turnover for the men in red. They have been ferocious in defence.
32'Italy get this line-out straight out but the move hits a snag in midfield before Canna kicks for territory.
32'Substitute on - Carlo Canna , Italy
32'Player substituted - Tommaso Allan , Italy
31'Hirayama tries his luck from near halfway but he gets nowhere near it. Allan off for a HIA, meaning the young Carlo Canna is on.
30'Italy get a squeeze on at a scrum but they can only take it down and Canada have won a penalty against the head. They will be delighted with that. Rizzo's studs seemed to slip in the turf there.
27'Accidental offside as Canada stand off the Italian line-out yet again, giving them a scrum.
26'
25'Canada threaten to break into Italian territory but Nanyak Dala is guilty of getting up when he had his knee down, and possession is ceded back to Italy.
25'10-10 Penalty goal - Tommaso Allan , Italy
24'We're level in Leeds as Allan slots the ball through the posts.
23'Allan chips ahead and Francesco Minto gobbles up the ball. Doug Wooldridge concedes the penalty though giving Allan a simple shot at three points.
22'But Italy concede another turnover and it's a scrum to Canada. Allan should really have gone wide there, the men in blue had numbers out wide. Canada eventually clear but Italy run the ball straight back at them.
21'Samuel Vunisa drives into the Canada defence from a line-out before Gori and Allan take the ball into contact yards from the line.
20'Joshua Furno takes the line-out but again Canada stand off the drive confusing the Azzurri a little, and once the drive comes on they manage to secure the turnover.
19'John Moonlight gives away a penalty, that Allan thumps deep into Canadian territory.
18'
18'7-10 Conversion - Tommaso Allan , Italy
17'Allan slots over the conversion and Italy have made that mountain look like a hill.
17'5-10 Try - Michele Rizzo , Italy
16'Try for Italy! Anything you can do we can do as well as Gori slices through the Canada defence before showing great composure to wait for Michele Rizzo who rampages over.
16'0-10 Conversion - Nathan Hirayama , Canada
15'Hirayama adds the extras and Italy have a mountain to climb.
15'0-8 Try - DTH van der Merwe , Canada
14'Try for Canada! That might be the try of the tournament so far, van der Merwe starts and finishes a flowing counter attack for the Canadians, slaloming through the Azzurri defence before diving gleefully under the posts.
14'0-3 Penalty goal - Nathan Hirayama , Canada
14'Player substituted - Connor Braid , Canada
14'Substitute on - Conor Trainor , Canada
13'Hirayama makes no mistake and Canada take the lead.
12'Canada threaten the Azzurri try line with Braid going closest, before the Italian defence steps up too quickly to give their opponents a kickable penalty.
11'At the second time of asking Canada get the ball in and out quickly. Braid chips over the top for DTH van der Merwe to chase but McLean is back to mop up. Canada keep up the pressure though and win another scrum.
9'Italy look to counter quickly from a line-out but Gori's clearance runs all the way over the dead ball line and hands Canada the game's first scrum.
8'Clancy stops the clock as the TMO wants to check for foul play from Edoardo Gori. After watching the replay it's decided Gori was guilty of stamping so the penalty is overturned and Canada are now on the attack. Hirayama fails to find touch, though, and Luke McLean can clear for Italy.
7'Italy stopped almost at that line-out waiting for Clancy's whistle to blow but it didn't and eventually they get their drive going.
6'Brilliant turnover from Canada hooker Ray Barkwill but they cannot capitalise on it and Italy win the penalty. Allan takes the opportunity to clear his lines.
4'Phil MacKenzie takes Canada into the Azzurri 22 but they cannot make the most of their opportunity and Hirayama ends up kicking away possession.
3'Italy give away another penalty at the breakdown. Nathan Hirayama boots the ball towards the corner.
2'Canada momentarily down to 14 men as Connor Braid receives treatment but he's quickly back on his feet.
1'Tristan Barclay at Elland Road: Italy claimed victory, but how they did so is anybody's guess. The second half was all Canada. The Canucks were electric after the break, camping out in the Italian half and scything through tacklers at will. The Azzurri defence was in almost constant disarray, unable to cope with the pace of Canada when they worked it out wide. Italy fullback Luke McLean rescued his side with a couple of last-ditch tackles, but really it was Canada's lack of killer instinct that rescued the Europeans. The final 10 minutes saw Italy run through set-piece after set-piece in the Canada 22, robbing a packed Elland Road of a dream World Cup upset.
1'Tristan Barclay in Leeds: A cagey opening 15 minutes had the neutrals inside Elland Road worrying they were about to witness something stale, but then DTH Van Der Merwe sliced through the Italy line to score one of the tries of the tournament so far. Since then, the Leeds crowd have been treated to a full-throttle Test match between two well-matched sides. Italy have dominated at the set piece, but Canada have been countering intelligently with quick ball from the scrum and by refusing to challenge the Italian line-out. The North Americans looked best with ball in hand, but a late Italian penalty means they go into the half-time break three points down. They could most definitely still win this, though.
1'Referee George Clancy blows his whistle and Tommaso Allan gets the game under way, kicking deep into Canadian territory where skipper Tyler Ardron spills possession. Italy attempt to use the ball but end up conceding a penalty as Gonzalo Garcia holds on after being tackled.
1'Hello and welcome to live coverage of Canada's Pool C clash with Italy at Elland Road. Both sides lost their opening match and will be looking to get a win on the board as they chase automatic qualification for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. The Azzurri, of course, need a victory to put pressure on Ireland and France for a place in the last eight. The players are emerging from the tunnel in Leeds, where we're minutes away from this famous old ground's first taste of international rugby union.
1'0-0 Start of first half

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