ITALY
No.Name
15Matteo Minozzi, FB
T
14Tommaso Benvenuti, W
13Michele Campagnaro, C
12Jayden Hayward, C
11Giulio Bisegni, W
10Tommaso Allan, FH
3
9Callum Braley, SH
1Andrea Lovotti, P
2Luca Bigi, H
3Simone Ferrari, P
4David Sisi, L
5Dean Budd, L
T
6Sebastian Negri, FL
T
7Jake Polledri, FL
8Braam Steyn, N8
T
Replacements
16Federico Zani, R
T
17Nicola Quaglio, R
18Marco Riccioni, R
19Federico Ruzza, R
20Maxime Mbanda, R
21Guglielmo Palazzani, R
22Carlo Canna, R
23Mattia Bellini, R
T

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Best Denki Stadium
8:45 AM, September 26, 2019
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

81'48-7 End of second half
80'A big win for the Italians, who deservedly run away with the result. Jake Polledri was massive for the men in blue, as was Matteo Minozzi. Canada will rue a number of penalties and sloppy skill errors - for their sake, hopefully they've now blown out the cobwebs. That's where we'll leave the live blog, thanks for joining us!
80'FULL TIME! Italy 48 - 7 Canada.
80'
TRY
TRY ITALY! And it's that man Minozzi who is making a claim to be man of the match! He gets on the end of a great run by Mattia Bellini and rumbles in to put an exclamation mark on this result!
79'48-7 Try - Matteo Minozzi , Italy
78'Matteo Minozzi has been excellent in defence for Italy. More than once tonight the diminutive fullback has been on the last line and stood up magnificently.
76'Substitute on - Luke Campbell , Canada
76'Player substituted - Mike Sheppard , Canada
74'
TRY
TRY ITALY! And just like that, Italy respond through Federico Zani, who is lodged in the middle of a strong Italian maul. They've been fantastic all night in the trenches.
74'43-7 Conversion - Carlo Canna , Italy
73'41-7 Try - Federico Zani , Italy
72'The overarching impression from this match is that one team (Italy) have already blown out the cobwebs (against Namibia). The Canadians have been sloppy and seem to have struggled greatly against an opponent which has already played a World Cup match.
72'The overarching impression from this match is that one team (Italy) have already blown out the cobwebs (against Namibia). The Canadians have been sloppy and seem to have struggled greatly against an opponent which has already played a World Cup match.
72'Substitute on - Guglielmo Palazzani , Italy
72'Player substituted - Callum Braley , Italy
71'36-7 Conversion - Peter Nelson , Canada
70'
TRY
TRY CANADA! It's taken a while but Canada are on the board. Peter Nelson baulked an opponent then got a great pass away to Andrew Coe who streaks down the right and scores Canada's first points for the tournament. Would you believe it - Canada actually looked a decent team right there!
69'36-5 Try - Andrew Coe , Canada
66'Substitute on - Jamie Mackenzie , Canada
66'Player substituted - Gordon McRorie , Canada
65'Oh no! It's just not going well for Canada, who are stripped of a try by the TMO for a knock-on from a kick. Tyler Ardron was the man who went over, but referee Nigel Owens gives the most apologetic explanation that they wouldn't be awarded the five points.
64'Should other Pool B teams (being South Africa, New Zealand) be worried about what they're seeing from Italy..? The front row has been magnificent despite being smaller than their Canadian counterparts.
63'Substitute on - Carlo Canna , Italy
63'Player substituted - Tommaso Allan , Italy
63'Substitute on - Maxime Mbanda , Italy
63'Player substituted - Braam Steyn , Italy
63'Player substituted - Jeff Hassler , Canada
63'Substitute on - Andrew Coe , Canada
62'
TRY
TRYYYYYYY ITALY! It's a procession now as the Italians open up Canada on the fat side and Mattia Bellini takes full advantage. Sebastian Negri was excellent in setting up the score.
62'36-0 Try - Mattia Bellini , Italy
59'
TRY
WOW! The Italians looked over the line through hooker Luca Bigi, but some desperate defence from Canada's DTH Van Der Merwe didn't allow him to get the ball to ground. But there's drama! A penalty try is awarded after an illegal tackle and Matt Heaton is sent to the sin bin with a yellow card!
59'Substitute on - Federico Zani , Italy
59'Player substituted - Luca Bigi , Italy
59'Yellow card - Matt Heaton , Canada
59'31-0 Penalty try
58'A couple of penalty advantage calls go to Italy and Canada look super tired up front... the Italian front row -- despite giving up a few kilos to the Canadians -- have been really impressive. I'm sure Canada would love a turnover right about now. The ball is locked inside their own 22.
58'Substitute on - Benoit Piffero , Canada
58'Player substituted - Eric Howard , Canada
55'Crowd are AMPED after a brief break. They want this to be a contest, and just need Canada to oblige. The Italians continue to press, however, and look assured in defence and attack.
55'Substitute on - Federico Ruzza , Italy
55'Player substituted - David Sisi , Italy
51'
51'Substitute on - Cole Keith , Canada
51'Player substituted - Matt Tierney , Canada
50'Italy press again but Canada seem to have woken up at the line and force a turnover. They desperately need some momentum.
47'Substitute on - Nicola Quaglio , Italy
47'Player substituted - Andrea Lovotti , Italy
47'Substitute on - Marco Riccioni , Italy
47'Player substituted - Simone Ferrari , Italy
45'
TRY
TRY ITALY! They've started the second half much like the first as Sebastian Negri goes over!
45'24-0 Conversion - Tommaso Allan , Italy
44'22-0 Try - Sebastian Negri , Italy
41'Substitute on - Mattia Bellini , Italy
41'Player substituted - Tommaso Benvenuti , Italy
41'17-0 End of first half
40'HALF TIME! After a terrible start from Canada, in which they conceded 17 points in about 15 minutes, they really looked a lot better in the following 20 minutes. You can't really call it a comeback, but they've been much better on both sides of a ball. Can they overcome a 17-point deficit? Stay with us for the second half!
40'17-0 Start of second half
39'Strong defence from Canada who were almost pushed to the try line by the advancing Italians. Despite that, Canada's skipper Tyler Ardron gives away a penalty for a deliberate knock-on and was lucky to not be given a yellow card. On another note, the turf is really struggling - that scrum took its toll!
39'Player substituted - Hubert Buydens , Canada
39'Substitute on - Djustice Sears-Duru , Canada
37'Line outs are chalk and cheese for these teams today. Italy are structured and executing well, while Canada seems confused and execution has been poor. Plenty to think about for Canada at the break despite having stemmed the flow of scoring - for now!
31'Canada go SO CLOSE again down the left but get squeezed for space by the Italian defence and Gordon McRorie's toe goes over the sideline as he tries to get a pass away just metres from their try line. Canada have dominated field position in the last ten minutes but can't convert.
27'Michele Campagnaro makes a nice break after breaking a tackle from a scrum but had no support - his run ends in a turnover and a penalty. He looms large for Italy!
25'For Canada's poor start, they're starting to put together some threatening runs - DTH Van Der Merwe is getting involved down the left flank and it looks the most likely avenue for them to score.
23'Players from both sides are getting treatment here and the players are getting a break after an energy-sapping five or so minutes.
22'Bit of aerial ping pong going on at the moment... the crowd has sensed the game has gone up a notch... who makes the next big move?
19'OH NO! Canada have squandered a golden opportunity to score a try. After a neat buildup, Matt Heaton can't control the ball over the try line and it's cost them points and possession!
16'Player substituted - Lucas Rumball , Canada
16'Substitute on - Matt Heaton , Canada
15'Staggering stat! The Canadians have already missed 14 tackles and we've played just 15 minutes! The Italians have missed just one (though, to be fair, have barely had to!).
14'17-0 Conversion - Tommaso Allan , Italy
13'15-0 Try - Dean Budd , Italy
12'
TRY
TRY ITALY! Skipper Dean Budd makes it look easy after an outside break opens up the Canadian defense. This could get ugly!
12'The Canadians have given away three early penalties to Italy's none - it's clear which team has settled into this game early.
9'
Nick Blevins leaves the field looking groggy after being taken over the line by Steyn and Ciaran Hearn comes on to replace him.
9'Player substituted - Nick Blevins , Canada
9'Substitute on - Ciaran Hearn , Canada
9'10-0 Conversion - Tommaso Allan , Italy
8'8-0 Try - Braam Steyn , Italy
7'
TRY
TRY ITALY! Really strong scrum from the Italians and Braam Steyn POWERS through the lines to score.
6'Strong start from the Italians who are really pressuring Canada early. Possession has been with the men in blue 90 percent of the time to Canada's 10 percent. Something to keep an eye on is the condition of the pitch which seems to be getting chopped up rather easily...
3'
Tommaso Allan coverts a penalty for the Italians!
3'3-0 Penalty goal - Tommaso Allan , Italy
2'Early TMO involvement... the Italians almost scored through a neat little kick forward, but Patrick Parfrey just touched the ball before the ball crossed the try line.
1'And we're away! Italy kicks off and the Canadian captain Tyler Ardron takes it inside their own 22 to begin the match, but they cough up the ball not long after.
1'The anthems have been sung - and we're glad these lads are rugby players and not singers, let's leave it that! Having said that, there was plenty of passion, so let's get this game underway!
1'Kickoff is less than 10 minutes away from Fukuoka, where conditions are a little tricky. It's overcast and 25 degrees Celsius, with drizzle expected throughout the afternoon.
1'Hello and welcome to our live commentary of today's only Rugby World Cup match, Italy vs. Canada. This is Canada's first match of the tournament so far, while the Italians are riding high after their hard-fought win over Namibia a few days ago. The Italians will start as the favourite today, but Canada will be hell-bent on starting their tournament strongly. Follow us here and send us your thoughts on twitter @espnscrum.
1'0-0 Start of first half

Rugby World Cup 2019 News