Thanks for joining me.
Here is Luke McLaughlin’s report.
Full time! Italy 38-17 Uruguay
It was a fine second half from Italy to turn things around against Uruguay, who can be pleased with their efforts and they will learn plenty from a game they described as their World Cup final.
Updated
78 mins: Italy held up over the line. The forwards were doing lots of hard work in an attempt to add another try but Uruguay mustered the energy to stop them.
76 mins: Italy kick for the corner for a lineout on the 10-metre line. They will be happy to keep the ball in this territory.
74 mins: Italy are looking to add some more points here. Uruguay not really in this now.
72 mins: Uruguay are looking tired and a little disenchanted, knowing that they had a chance of winning this and let it slip away. It is not all their fault, by a long distance. Italy were poor in the first half and half upped their game since the break and a tired Uruguay after two tough games have been unable to cope.
Stephen Murphy emails: “Absolutely zero intent for the Vilaseca yellow, and changed the entire momentum of the game. If anything Italian player dipped his head into the shoulder in contact, but nothing in it. Just a real shame to see what was shaping up to be a potential upset ruined by inept refereeing.”
PENALTY! Italy 38-17 Uruguay (P Garbisi, 70)
A lot going on! Italy get the penalty because of Arbelo’s lack of interest in grasping in a tackle. P Garbisi takes over kicking duties to add the three points from under the posts.
68 mins: Arata wanders off and has a goos moan at the Italian bench, much to their amusement.
Uruguay are trying to run the ball up the pitch and create half a break but a pass is sent out of play.
66 mins: Arata down on the ground with a sore face after an accidental clash of heads with Lamaro. It must really hurt but it is not an infringement.
64 mins: It’s been an impressive turnaround since for Italy, aided by the yellow card to Uruguay skipper Vilaseca.
We are back to Gardner coaching the front rows through the scrum. Uruguay use it well and fling it out to the right to try and stretch Italy because they need tries.
TRY! Italy 35-17 Uruguay (Ignacio Brex, 62)
Italy push for the line once more and Uruguay do their very best to hold them up but that creates gaps in the line, which Ignacio Brex takes advantage of. Allan, as always, does the business.
Updated
60 mins: Uruguay’s scrum is penalised for its general inadequacies to lose the advantage and the possession is turned over to Italy for their own put in. Italy get the ball out Italy and move it along the line. Capuozzo puts in a kick but Etcheverry collects, only to be dumped into touch by Ioane.
58 mins: Can Uruguay bounce back or are they physically spent? Italy are growing in confidence in this match.
TRY! Italy 28-17 Uruguay (L Cannone, 56)
Italy are in the mood now. The ball is moving a lot quicker along the line and Cannone just about gets the ball over the line. Another fine conversion from Allan ensures he keeps up his perfect record.
Updated
54 mins: Etcheverry does some very impressive things but always seems keen to put in a woeful kick. He needs to find some consistency.
TRY! Italy 21-17 Uruguay (Ioane, 52)
In the final seconds of the extra man, Italy move the ball quickly around 10 metres out, eventually finding a marauding Ioane, who cuts through and leaps over the line. Allan does the business with the kick.
Updated
52 mins: Some mild farce as a Uruguay kick is charged down and then Etcheverry tries to collect the ball but knocks it further backwards but just about beats Lamaro to it, otherwise it would be an Italy try.
50 mins: Uruguay are looking to get the clock ticking down on Vilaseca’s time off the pitch with a good, old fashioned maul.
Italy are making some changes to the forwards to freshen things up.
48 mins: Jeff Sax says: “I don’t remember a game where the ref has to check so many situations!!!”
There is a lot going on.
TRY! Italy 14-17 Uruguay (Lamaro, 46)
Etcheverry sends a panicked kick down the middle but it lacks height and distance, so Italy run at straight back. They are testing the light defence and in the end Lamaro gets the ball and touches down. The conversion is no issue.
Updated
44 mins: NO TRY! An Italian maul forms after a lineout in the corner. Nicotera is the man that gets over the line but he is held up over the line.
Vilaseca’s yellow will remain as such.
44 mins: It’s gone to the bunker. If he gets a red for that, I think we should all pack up and go home.
43 mins: Foul play by Vilaseca is called up by the TMO. Looks like his shoulder has caught Pani in the face. It is just a glance but earns him a yellow card.
42 mins: Plenty of early play in the middle of the pitch, with Italy enjoying most of the ball.
Updated
Second half
Here we go again!
Why do the ITV pundits stand up before the match and sit down at half time? What is the point?
Half-time reading:
Half time! Italy 7-17 Uruguay
Ill-discipline has cost Italy in the first half and Uruguay took advantage after a shaky start.
DROP GOAL! Italy 7-17 Uruguay (Etcheverry, 40+3)
Etcheverry takes aim from around the halfway line to increase the lead going into the break. They need a TMO check to make sure it has gone over but it’s all good.
Updated
39 mins: The good news for Italy is that they are back up to 15 players.
TRY! Italy 7-14 Uruguay (Freitas, 37)
In the end Uruguay use the overlap well. Etcheverry sees Freitas in space and crosses the line in the corner. The fly-half whacks the ball through the posts from the touchline.
Updated
36 mins: Etcheverry sends a fine kick into the corner. His kicking from his hands is better than off the tee. It is a successful throw and catch from the lineout. Uruguay push for the line and every blue shirt is doing their best to stop them. Sanguinetti tries to thrust himself over the line but is held up.
34 mins: A bit of back and forth from the boot before Uruguay decide to have another run with the extra two men. Amaya is caught high and a penalty advantage is given. Italy really are struggling. Gardner offers another warning to captain Lamaro.
32 mins: Uruguay give away a penalty for offside but Italylose it because Gattas hits a yellow shirt after the whistle has gone. Dreadful indiscipline from Italy.
30 mins: Uruguay are trying to use the extra space on the pitch with the ball going through hands at speed along the line. Their attack ends with forward pass.
28 mins: Can Uruguay utilise the two-man advantage? They are looking confident after a positive few minutes.
Updated
PENALTY TRY! Italy 7-7 Uruguay (27 mins)
Uruguay go for a lineout and Ardao ploughs over the line but Gardner thinks he’s been held up. It’s all very inconclusive but then the referee points out Fischetti that collapsed the maul prematurely and awards a penalty try and yellow cards Fischetti. Italy down to 13!
Updated
26 mins: Uruguay keep battling to get over the line but Italy are holding firm … just about. The forwards are doing the hard work for Uruguay without reward. In the end a penalty is awarded. Nicollo Cannone is yellow carded for his cynical play.
24 mins: Echevarry intercepts a pass on the right wing and sprints for the line but lacks the pace to get there and is halted about five metres short.
22 mins: Missed penalty! Etcheverry gets another chance from a central position but skews the kick. That is really quite bad. Uruguay should, in theory, only be a point behind now.
20 mins: We have another scrum. I am not sure one has been completed successfully yet. Gardner is doing his best to coach the two packs through it but that’s not really his job. A completed scrum and Gardner praises both teams. What a moment.
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19 mins: Uruguay are starting to look dangerous with ball in hard after struggling to enjoy any decent possession in areas the can cause damage.
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16 mins: Italy were originally given the wrong mark and were offered the chance to change their minds, so decide to go for touch instead. Uruguay are less than happy with the officials.
Italy have a lineout and begin a maul but make limited progress. Italy throw the ball out to the left and then kick into the corner where the Italian substitutes are warming up and get in the way of the game. All a bit laughable as the ball goes dead.
14 mins: Advantage to Italy because the scrum has once again collapsed. We come back to their own five-metre line and Italy kick for touch. I’ve been involved in more competitive rugby league scrums.
Another Uruguay penalty, once again for offside. Italy are going for the posts.
12 mins: Uruguay kick to the corner and get a lineout on the five-metre line. It’s a good throw to Aliaga and they get their maul on. They make to the line but Italy hold them up.
Gardner is having a word with the captains and front rows because the scrummaging has been pitiful thus far.
10 mins: Negri is accused of making contact with the head of Freitas. The on-field referee Gardner thinks it is a classic clearout and gives a penalty because it was not a dangerous action.
9 mins: Italy are looking the more composed here. There is another infringement from Uruguay when they are adjudged to be offside.
We have a TMO review …
TRY! Italy 7-0 Uruguay (Pani, 7)
The scrum collapses again but Italy get the advantage. The ball is played out to Pani who bundles himself over the line and, as the TMO rules, is just about in possession of the ball when it touches the ground. Allan does the rest.
Updated
6 mins: Italy have the scrum five yards from the try line. The wet surface is causing a few issues with the scrum and it collapses. Italy take another knowing how much the Uruguay pack struggled against France.
4 mins: Capuozzo kicks the ball down the wing and sets off to chase it. Despite his speed, it is scooped up by Amaya but he is dumped over the line by a collection of blue shirts.
2 mins: Uruguay win an early penalty after an Italian comes in from the side. It is kickable distance - Etcheverry lines it up to the right of the post but sends his effort just wide. Not the best start for the fly-half.
Kick off
Here we go!
Updated
A lot of ‘vamos’ at the end of the anthems. This should be spicy.
Italy are in their traditional blue, while Uruguay once again are sporting their yellow away shirt.
There is some rain around in Nice, which should make handling interesting. It will be interesting to see how the two teams approach their kicking game.
Uruguay’s Oscar Duran: “It was really special. We took a lot of confidence from the game against France. This is our big match, we have prepared and worked a lot for this game. This is our World Cup final. It will be a tough, tough game.”
A sign of how big this match is for Uruguay.
James Cavell emails: “For those of us with an interest in Tier 2 rugby this promises to be a fascinating game.
“In fact, this World Cup could be a significant one for Tier 2 nations, who with the exception of Namibia and Romania have looked entirely at home at this level.
“This tournament is of real interest, but already the qualification was fascinating for Tier 2 teams.
“In short, Covid meant that Tier 2 teams who keep all or most of their players in a central training facility playing for one team in a regional competition (Chile, Uruguay and Portugal) got the whip hand over countries like USA and Canada who have their players spread out over numerous clubs at home and abroad and barely saw each other during the pandemic. This is because the ‘centralised’ approach meant players could train together when competition was suspended and once matches resumed, all played for the same team at club level.
|We’re continuing to see the benefits of this centralised approach at the tournament as players of certain Tier 2 teams have so much experience playing and training together.
“The weakest teams at the tournament, Namibia and Romania have also struggled with playing and training time together since the last tournament, as their players are spread across different clubs.
“In the next qualification cycle it will be fascinating to see if the centralised approach continues to beat the ‘get your players playing professionally at lots of different clubs’ approach.”
How’s the atmosphere in France? Let the Guardian answer this.
ITV are talking about anything other than Italy v Uruguay.
As someone who lives in an Anglo-Romanian household and whose dad goes to cardiac rehab in a Romanian rugby shirt, I enjoyed this.
A massive threat, indeed.
Starting lineups
Italy XV: Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Marco Riccioni; Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza; Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro (captain), Lorenzo Cannone; Alessandro Garbisi, Tommaso Allan; Monty Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, Lorenzo Pani; Ange Capuozzo.
Replacements: Luca Bigi, Federico Zani, Pietro Ceccarelli, Dino Lamb, Manuel Zuliani, Giovanni Pettinelli; Alessandro Fusco, Paolo Odogwu
Uruguay XV: Mateo Sanguinetti, German Kessler, Ignacio Peculo; Felipe Aliaga, Manuel Leindekar; Manuel Ardao, Santiago Civetta, Manuel Diana; Santiago Arata, Felipe Etcheverry; Nicolas Freitas, Andres Vilaseca (captain), Tomas Inciarte, Gaston Mieres; Baltazar Amaya.
Replacements: Guillermo Pujadas, Facundo Gattas, Diego Arbelo, Ignacio Dotti, Carlos Deus; Agustin Ormaechea, Felipe Berchesi, Bautista Basso
Preamble
Italy were welcomed to the tournament by giving Namibia a thrashing. Their trip to France should get a little bit harder against Uruguay but they expect to win, allowing them to build momentum going into their final two - and tougher group games - against the hosts and New Zealand. A victory over the South Americans would essentially secure third place in the group, which would be fine news for Italian rugby, considering they spend most of the Six Nations trying to keep the score down.
The result, however, is far from certain against Uruguay, who will feel a little disappointed by their defeat to France. They looked superb with ball in hand but had a try chalked off and made a mistake to allow France to cross the whitewash. They will be hoping to pull off a win tonight and boost their own hopes of sealing the much-coveted third spot.
Kick-off: 4.45pm BST
