POOL C: Italy 53 17 Russia:INSPIRATIONAL ITALY captain Sergio Parisse steered his side to a 53-17 win over Russia in their Pool C match at Trafalgar Park yesterday.
Parisse was instrumental in at least three of Italys six first-half tries, scoring the first and setting up two others as the Italians dominated the forward exchanges to notch 50 points for the first time in a World Cup match.
“We are very happy to take the victory and the five points which was very important for us,” Parisse said. We scored some tries and we take confidence in our attack but our defence must improve because the USA and Ireland will be very hard, he added.
Winger Giulio Toniolatti and centre Tommaso Benvenuti also scored two tries each, while scrumhalf Edoardo Gori, winger Luke McLean and Alessandro Zanni also crossed for the Italians.
Italy coach Nick Mallett said his team got off to a good start but lost their way a bit.
“I was very happy with the way we started the first half but then we got a bit loose. Russia ran hard at us, kept the ball and played some nice rugby,” he said.
“We needed five points to make sure we go into the game against Ireland with a good shot at going through.”
The Italian scrum was also rewarded when Waynes Barnes gave a penalty try after the Russians had collaped the scrum for the fourth time on their goal line.
Outhalf Riccardo Bocchino converted four of their first half tries, though he and Benvenuti missed five conversions between them.
Italy hooker Fabio Ongaro was sin-binned for an illegal tackle when he went into the tackle without wrapping his arms around Igor Klyuchnikov.
Russia took full advantage when replacement scrumhalf Alexander Yanyushkin darted over for his side’s first try at the World Cup and outhalf Konstantin Rachkov converted.
Benvenuti gabbed his second try of the game when he kicked ahead and won the race to the ball to give the Italians a 43-7 lead shortly after half-time, before Russian Vladimir Ostroushko scored his side’s second try.
Italy winger McLean, who had been a constant threat, crossed for his sides eighth try before Russia centre Alexei Makovetsky took a long pass on the left and went over for Russia’s third.
ITALY:Masi; Toniolatti, Benvenuti, Pratichetti, McLean; Bocchino, Gori; Perugini, Ongaro, Cittadini; Geldenhuys, Bortolami; Derbyshire, Bergamasco, Parisse. Replacements: D'Apice for Bergamasco (36 mins), Castrogiovanni for Perugini, van Zyl for Bortolami (both 47 mins), Canavosio for Gori, Zanni for Parisse (both 58 mins) Sgarbi for Masi (59 mins), Canale for Bocchino (73 mins).
RUSSIA: Klyuchnikov; Artemyev, Kuzin, Makovetskiy, Ostroushko; Rachkov, Shakirov; Botvinnikov, Korshunov, Prishchepenko; Voytov, Byrnes; Grachev, Garbuzov, Gresev. Replacements: Kushnarev for Klyuchnikov (33 mins), Yanyushkin for Shakirov (28 mins), Khrokin for Botvinnikov (54 mins), Tsnobiladze for Korshunov (61 mins), Fatakhov for Grachev (64 mins), Antonov for Byrnes (65 mins), Sidorov for Garbuzov (69 mins).
Referee: W Barnes (RFU).
