England got back on track. Dominated last week by Argentina at Twickenham, the XV of the Rose clearly took the best of a frail team from Japan. Owen Farrell needed just five minutes to open the scoring from a penalty before tries arrived. Shortly before the quarter hour mark, Freddie Steward found the fault and was imitated by Marcus Smith just over ten minutes later. The Japanese then regained momentum and pushed the English defense to fault. Takuya Yamasawa passed two penalties in three minutes on the half hour mark. Meanwhile, Jonny May was shown a yellow card after a gross foul in a maul. A numerical inferiority which did not slow down the XV of the Rose, Guy Porter going there from his test to give his team an 18-point lead at the break. Back on the pitch, Seung-Sin Lee missed the target on penalty before seeing Ellis Genge register the fourth English try eight minutes after the restart. Barely time to recover that Guy Porter went to register his second personal test. The “Brave Blossoms” saved the honor on the hour mark through Naoto Saito. At the start of the last ten minutes, Siosaia Fifita made a mistake on a test action. In addition to a yellow card, Japan took a penalty try. Marcus Smith then took advantage of the gaps in the opposing defense to go flat a second time with five minutes left to play. The end of the match saw the English push without adding to the bill for a very clear victory (52-13) one week before hosting the All Blacks.
! π#ENGvJPN pic.twitter.com/uRSqjeWjcb
β England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 12, 2022
Monumental exploit of Italy!
Italy has achieved a real feat. After 18 consecutive defeats against Australia, the Squadra Azzurra won this Saturday on the lawn of the Artemio-Franchi Stadium in Florence against the Wallabies. From the first moments of the game, the Australian defense made a mistake and Tommaso Allan was able to open the scoring on penalty. However, Noah Lolesio equalized just four minutes later before seeing his opponent miss the target in stride. The yellow card received fifteen minutes into the game by Jake Gordon changed the course of the match. These ten minutes in numerical superiority allowed Italy to take off on the scoreboard. After Pierre Bruno, it was Ange Capuozzo who found the loophole in the Wallabies defense to give Italy a fourteen-point lead. Australia then closed the gap thanks to a try from Tom Wright not converted by Noah Lolesio. Dave Rennie’s players returned with another second-act mood with Fraser McReight flattening the hopeful’s try four minutes into the restart. After a penalty from Tommaso Allan, Ange Capuozzo scored twice to breathe new life into the Squadra Azzurra. However, Tom Robertson’s try just under a quarter of an hour from the end of the match put the Italians under pressure again. Six minutes from the siren, Edoardo Padovani put Italy back six steps ahead but, on the last action, Cadeyrn Neville went to flatten, giving Ben Donaldson the match point. The transformation passed to the right of the posts, sealing the Italian victory by a single point (28-27).
α΄α΄α΄α΄α΄ α΄ α΄Κα΄α΄α΄α΄α΄ π#ITAvAUS @autumnations #insieme #rugbypassioneitaliana pic.twitter.com/DLEBJRji3W
β Italrugby (@Federugby) November 12, 2022
Ireland dominate Fiji
A week after their victory over South Africa, Ireland had less difficulty in dominating Fiji. However, it was the “Flying Fidjans” who set the tone with Kalaveti Ravouvou who flattened the first try after four minutes. An advantage that only lasted ten minutes, the time for Nick Timoney to equalize for the XV of Clover. The yellow card received by Manada Saulo opened up breaches which the Irish third line was able to take advantage of in the next action. The Fijians then reduced the gap with the boot of Teti Tela but Robert Baloucoune allowed Ireland to take the lead at the break with an eleven-point lead. The game for the Pacific players changed forever six minutes after the restart, when Albert Tuisue tackled Joe Carbery without the ball with his shoulder at the level of the head. A gesture that the referee of the meeting logically sanctioned with a red card. In the aftermath, Api Ratuniyarawa left Fiji at thirteen for ten minutes after collapsing a maul. A double numerical superiority which the Irish took advantage of only too little to worsen the score. Only a test of Mack Hansen came to sanction the Fijian indiscipline. As the last quarter of an hour approached, Simione Kuruvoli brought the Pacific selection closer by going to the test but, six minutes from the siren, Cian Healy sealed the fate of the meeting by going to flatten. Ireland thus signs its second victory in this tour (35-17).
Autumn tour: Australia fall in Italy, Ireland secure against Fiji