Italy defeated the USA 22-10 in the opening game of the Women's Rugby World Cup, played in Whangarei, New Zealand.
The Eagles will rue the first 30 minutes of the game in which they dominated field position and ball possession and could only score one try.
Too Much and Not Enough
The game started with the USA on the front foot. They pressured off the kickoff, stole the ball and had Italy really concerned. But the Italians defended well and the USA attack, as has been the issue for the last 12 months or so, lacked variety. In the end wing Lotte Clapp turned the ball over and Italy got the ball back.
The Italians were dealt a blow then, with flanker Ilaria Arrighetti going down with a bad injury that could well mean the end of her World Cup after about two minutes.
Back came the USA and after a scrum penalty they tapped, bashed at the line, and finally lock Hallie Taufoou was over. She did well in traffic, keeping a low body position and making sure of her touchdown.
From there the USA continued to spend time in the Italian half. Their scrum strength was impressive and they earned some penalties out of that, but they started to encounter lineout trouble. The Italians got their front jump up quickly and disrupted or outright stole USA throws.
The Eagles had another good scoring chance with a break from wing Jennine Detiveaux. The Eagles couldn't quite follow on but defensive pressure by Jordan Matyas forced a penalty. The USA opted for a scrum (realizing the lineout wouldn't work) and from there No. 8 Kate Zachary almost made the line. The ball went wide and the connection in the backs failed, giving Italy a letoff once again.
More chances came; Italy stopped a maul inches from the line, and an excellent break from Detiveaux and Zackary just didn't get enough support.
Late in the first half, Italy finally got some time in the USA half. Fullback Alev Kelter's kick to touch on a penalty was shanked, Italy countered, and quick they worked a series of little passes out wide to Aura Mizzo to score in the corner. Fullback Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi hit the difficult conversion and it was 7-5 Italy.
Going into the sheds, then, the USA knew they had to fix their lineouts, and perhaps felt they could use their kicking game to win the territorial game. But they would also have to be worried about their tackling. Italy made meters in almost every contact, and found ways to cut through, forcing the Eagles to make cover tackles.
