Italy edge out Japan 22-25 to register their first win of 2018

Japan 22-25 Italy, Noevir Stadium
Scorecard

Italy registered their first win of the year as they edged out Japan with a 22-25 margin at Noevir Stadium to level the two-game series 1-1.

Japan started the game with a bit of setback as Samuela Anise was sin-binned in the fourth minute for a dangerous tackle on Leonardo Ghiraldini but Italy failed to add any point despite having the numerical advantage.

The first points of the game came in the 19th minute when Jayden Hayward and Sebastian Negri set up Tommaso Benvenuti for the opening try and Tommaso Allan slotted the conversion to make it 0-7.

Their dominance only increased when Leonardo Ghiraldini crashed past the line six minutes later as Italy managed to score 12 unanswered points.

Japan finally managed to get off the mark when Yu Tamura kicked a 34th minute penalty goal as the teams headed into the break a 3-12 scoreline.

Italy were quick to get off the block in the second half when Jake Polledri went past the line in the 44th minute and once again Allan's conversion made it 3-19.

Japan managed a turnaround in the final quarter as they scored back to back tries in a span of five minutes with Will Tupou (60') and Amanaki Mafi (65') finding themselves in the scoring sheet as the gap narrowed down to two points with 10 minutes left in the game.

Allan provided a breathing space for Italy with back to back penalty kicks in the 72nd and 74th minutes and Japan almost gave them a scare with a late try Kotaro Matsushima in the 79th minute that also saw Giovanni Licata yellow-carded but Italy managed to hold on to their nerve to complete a 22-25 victory - their first this year.

Congratulazioni agli Azzurri #Italrugby per la vittoria di questo pomeriggio a Kobe.

Grazie al Giappone per una grande sfida in queste due settimane.

Continuiamo a seguire la nostra strada e a lavorare#JPNvITA pic.twitter.com/vhmMmgm6zN

— Alfredo Gavazzi (@alfredo_gavazzi) June 16, 2018