AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND). The girls of rugby write history: on the Italian night of Sunday 23 October the Azzurre beat Japan 21-8, hitting second place in the group with two wins and earning the direct passage to the World Cup quarter-finals.
It is the certification that the place among the first eight of the ranking (Italy is fifth) now corresponds to the result on the pitch. No Azzurra team had ever reached this milestone. The male colleagues after 9 world championship editions have only touched the quarters in the first edition of 1987, eliminated at the time for a minimal point difference.
Di Giandomenico’s girls will now face France (for the fourth time this year) on Sunday 30 October (direct at 5.30 Italian time) to enter the quarters and, regardless of how it will go, the feat has already been done. Le Bleus are a tough nut to crack for ours, who have been in full professionalism for years. Nothing to do with the Italian scholarships that allowed Giordano and his companions to concentrate on this adventure for a year.
However, the match against Japan, the last of Group B with three defeats, was not a foregone conclusion.
The Japanese weren’t there to be part of the mattress team and for almost an hour the result was in equilibrium. The Italians needed the bonus to protect themselves from a US victory against Canada, which did not happen, but did not arrive. We were afloat thanks to the ballistic expertise of Michela Sillari (4 out of 5 at the foot) and the balance jumped in the 23 ‘of the second half due to the yellow to Imaguki rea of a dangerous tackle against the flanker Giada Franco (player of the match ): in the ten minutes in numerical superiority the points at the foot of Sillari arrived and finally a second goal signed by Bettoni at the end of a delightful dialogue between the trocar and the scrum.
At the start of the match, the Japanese reacted to Magatti’s goal (9 ‘), drawing on 29’ for a 5-5 that remained almost until the break (8-5).
There is always progress in every event in which the Azzurre have participated in recent years: from second place to the 6 Nations 2018 (beating France at the Plebiscite of Padua), to the direct qualification for the World Cup in the Parma 2021 tournament (eliminating the Ireland), confirming that it is the third force in Europe after the English and French professionals. And now the quarters: an enormous progress compared to the previous World Cup, based on the blocks of two Venetian clubs such as Valsugana Padova and Villorba. All accompanied by an almost complete generational change.
Auckland, Waitakere Stadium – Sunday 23 October
Rugby World Cup, Pool B – Matchday III
Japan v Italy 8-21
Marcatrici: st 9′ m. Magati (0-5); 29′ m. Hosokawa (5-5); 37′ pc. Sillari (5-8); st 9′ cp. Otsuka (8-8); 13′ pc. Sillari (8-11); 26′ pc. Sillari (8-14); 38′ m. Bettoni tr. Sillari (8-21)
Giappone: Matsuda; Nagura, Furuta, Yamamoto (15′ st. Nakayama), Imakugi (33′ st. Anoku); Otsuka, Abe (3′ st. Tsukui); Saito, Nagata, Hosokawa (26′ st. Korai); Takano (18′ st. Kawamura), Sato (12′ st. Yoshimura); Kato (13′ st. Lavemai), Taniguchi, Minami (cap, 20′ st. Komaki)
all. McKenzie
Italy: Ostuni-Minuzzi; Muzzo, Sillari, Rigoni, Magatti; Madia, Barattin (32 ‘st. Stefan); Giordano (cap), Franco (33 ‘St. Veronese), Sgorbini; Duca, Tounesi (32 ‘st. Fedrighi); Seye, Bettoni, Turani
annex By Giandomenico
Arb. Cogger-Orr (Canada)
Footballers: Sillari (Italy) 4/5; Otsuka (Japan) 1/2
Cards: 23 ‘st. yellow Imakugi (Japan)
Player of the Match: Franco (Italia)