This archive report was first published on 26 September 2019.
Italy's Rugby World Cup campaign received a significant boost on Thursday with a convincing 48-7 victory over Canada at Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium.
The match, played in sweltering humidity, saw Italy's forwards assert their dominance, scoring seven tries and earning a bonus point in the process.
Conor O'Shea's side, who had rested several players, were led by the impressive performances of loose forwards Jake Polledri, Braam Steyn, and Sebastian Negri.
Italy captain Dean Budd praised his team's effort, saying, 'We've earned a few drinks tonight. We were blowing out there but we put a massive focus on the first 20 minutes and the effort we put into that first 20 minutes took a bit of the pressure off.'
The match got off to a strong start for Italy, with Steyn and Budd exploiting some poor Canadian defence to give their side a 17-0 lead by the 13th minute.
However, Canada began to make their tackles and gain possession, dominating field position and creating opportunities to get back into the game.
Despite these chances, Italy's physical dominance ultimately told, with Negri extending the lead with a try and the Italians securing the bonus point with a penalty try.
Replacement winger Mattia Bellini also crossed the line with about 20 minutes remaining, and Italy finished strongly with replacement hooker Federico Zani shunted over from a driving maul.
Italy's coach Conor O'Shea expressed his satisfaction with the win, saying, 'You have to be pretty happy. We started the game really well and that's where we imposed ourselves … and in the last 20 minutes drove it home the physical dominance we had.'
