England survived a scare to scrape a 17-12 victory over Italy on Sunday and maintain their winning start to the Six Nations.
Mathew Tait scored the only try six minutes into the second half and Jonny Wilkinson kicked a drop goal to seal the match after Italy had pulled within two points late on with Mirco Bergamasco’s fourth successful penalty.
But it was a disappointing performance by England, especially for Wilkinson, who provided the other points but also missed three attempts at goal.
The hosts defended and spoiled well throughout and had the former world champions under pressure in the closing stages, but never really threatened to cross the tryline.
England almost scored in the first minute but the Italians just managed to clear a Delon Armitage chip across the tryline.
The Azzurri had one of their best chances to go over minutes later but Alessandro Zanni’s attempt to offload went astray.
Wilkinson opened the score in the 10th minute with an easy penalty before Mirco Bergamasco replied in kind soon after.
The English cut through the midfield on a couple of occasions, but the hosts’ cover held firm, with Gonzalo Garcia producing a fine try-saving on Ugo Monye in the 16th minute.
England started to look frustrated and their problems were exemplified by Wilkinson missing two consecutive penalties, although he may have been distracted by a horn going off as he was taking the second.
He gathered his composure to slot one over and send the sides in level at 6-6 at half-time after Bergamasco had kicked Italy in front.
Tait claimed the score that was ultimately the difference between the teams soon after the break when Monye broke down the left.
Wilkinson fluffed the conversion but he managed to add three points to their lead after Italy prop Martin Castrogiovanni was given a yellow card for smothering the ball in a ruck.
Bergamasco kicked two goals to set up an exciting finish, although, even on a bad day, Wilkinson had the final word.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS