Italy survives Georgia scare with record-breaking comeback win: Planet Rugby

On November 18, 2024By Pranco

Italy recorded their biggest ever comeback victory on Sunday by beating Georgia 20-17 in a thrilling encounter in Genoa.

The Azzurri trailed 17-6 at half-time, but a run of fourteen unanswered points led them to a gutsy win.

After a fairly even and entertaining opening phase of twenty minutes, Italy opened the scoring through the boot of fly-half Paolo Garbisi.

This breathed new life into the match and Georgia took full advantage as they crossed just minutes later. A sensational strike found the ball in the hands of electric winger Akaki Tabutsadze, and he sliced through the Azzurri defense to cross the whitewash.

Italy However, they responded well and made Georgia pay for a series of penalties with another three-pointer from Garbisi’s boot.

A clever cut from Alexander Todua who got the resulting kick-off Georgia deep in the Italian 22, allowing them to strike with Luka Matkava’s own penalty.

Los Lelos weren’t done there and shortly afterwards they added their second try of the match. A delightful line-break from Davit Niniashvili teleported Georgia deep into Italian territory, and he put the effort on a plate for the supporting Vasil Lobzhanidze, who dived under the posts.

With the clock in the red, Italy had another golden opportunity to score, but Georgia’s heroic defense dragged Matt Gallagher into touch just as the full-back looked set to score.

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Gonzalo Quesada’s side needed a big start to the second half if they were to have any chance of getting back into the game, and that’s exactly what they got through a penalty. A series of Georgian penalties allowed Italy to set up camp in the 22, and ultimately Tabutsadze’s deliberate downer was punished with seven points and a sin bin.

They could easily have scored another after once again storming into the Georgian 22, but a Manuel Zuliani downer easily earned them a reprieve.

However, the momentum was clearly still with the Azzurri. More ill-discipline from the visitors allowed Italy to move within reach again, but a well-executed attack from a lineout allowed Alessandro Fusco to burst through a gap in the defense and score on his return to the side.

Italy also almost managed a back-to-back attempt, but Monty Ioane was put into touch by a group of Georgian defenders and they escaped again.

As the clock ran, Georgia had one last roll of the dice with a lineout inside the Azzurri half, but a knock-on gave Italy back possession and ultimately the match.

The teams

Italy: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dino Lamb-Cona, 4 Niccolo Cannone , 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Giulio Bertaccini

Georgia: 15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Tornike Kakhoidze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 6 Spanderashvili Ilia, 5 Giorgi Javakhia, 4 Mikheili Babunashvili, 3 Irakli Aptsiauri, 2 Vano Karkadze, 1 Nika Abuladze
Replacements: 16 Luka Nioradze, 17 Giorgi Akhaladze, 18 Luka Japaridze, 19 Vladimeri Chachanidze, 20 Luka Ivanishvili, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Demur Tapladze

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (NZR), Damian Schneider (UAR)
TMO: Glenn Newman (NZR)