Italy deal blow to Georgia's Six Nations aspirations
Italy dealt a blow to Georgia's Six Nations ambitions by clinching a 28-17 victory in Florence on Saturday.
The Azzurri have taken the wooden spoon at the past three Six Nations and slipped below Georgia in the world rankings, but they came out on top in their first meeting since 2003.
Tamaz Mchedlidze scored the game's first try after Tommaso Allan slotted through a ninth-minute penalty, but Michele Campagnaro crossed to put Italy, who fell to a huge 54-7 loss to Ireland last weekend, back in front.
Giorgi Tsutskiridze was sent to the sin bin in the 28th minute but it was not until Georgia were restored to their full complement that Allan kicked a second three-pointer and Mattia Bellini powered over in the corner.
Simone Ferrari extended Italy's lead three minutes after the restart and their advantage stood at 18 points when Allan dabbed down after Soso Matiashvili's penalty.
Tommaso Benvenuti's early tackle on Beka Bitsadze earned him a yellow card and gave the visitors a penalty try, but handling errors late in the match stopped them from forcing a tense finale.
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That loss to the Blues still stings! The Reds have fallen short in 4 of the 6 games decided by 7 points or fewer. Are they not fit enough to close out the close games or are there tactical issues when games go down to the wire? The pleasing thing is no Australian side can better the Reds record of 3 wins from 5 against Kiwi sides but the Brumbies can match it. Les Kiss has instilled a belief in the Reds that they can match it with all the New Zealand sides.
Go to commentsA potential 5th star for Leinster and redemption adter losing 2 tight finals against La Rochelle against Toulouse and the chance for Jacques Nienaber to have some success without Rassie Erasmus running the show.
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