logo
Below-par Scotland beaten by Italy in Six Nations

Below-par Scotland beaten by Italy in Six Nations

BBC News13-04-2025
Women's Six NationsScotland (7) 17Tries: Rollie, Gallagher, McGhie Con: NelsonItaly (10) 25Tries: Sgorbini, Muzzo (2), Minuzzi, D'Inca
Scotland were left to rue a below-par performance after losing at home to Italy in round three of the Women's Six Nations.Chloe Rollie gave the Scots an early lead with the opening try, but the Azzurri struck back with scores from Francesca Sgorbini and Aura Muzzo to go in 10-7 up at the break.Evie Gallagher and Francesca McGhie crossed after the interval, but tries from Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, Alyssa D'Inca and a second from Muzzo sealed a deserved first victory for the Italians.Bryan Easson's side are left with one win from their three matches and face title-chasing England next, while Italy host France.The Scots struck first when the pack got a roll on from a line-out maul. The ball was whipped wide to Rollie and while she looked to have turned into too much traffic, the full-back stepped and powered her way to the tryline.The home side had the lead but it was Italy who were on top in the opening half hour. The visitors got their reward when Sgorbini breached the Scottish defence and dived over from close range.Italy scored a wonderful second try when centre Michela Sillari drew a couple of defenders and delayed her pass to perfection to set Muzzo free to score.The Scots finally generated some field position and were awarded a penalty just outside the Italy 22. Rather than look to level things up going into the break, they kicked for the corner, lost possession from the subsequent line-out and the chance was gone.
Three points down having barely fired a shot was by no means a disaster, but Scotland were in need of a spark and they got it early in the second half when a smart play from a 5m line-out sent Gallagher over to regain the lead.Italy showed no signs of carrying any scars from chastening losses to England and Ireland earlier in the championship.They were playing with confidence and greater fluency than their hosts, and when Lisa Thomson kicked loosely with a clearance, the Scots were punished.Ostuni Minuzzi fielded the kick, ran deep into the red zone to exchange passes with D'Inca and glide over for a terrific try.To make matters worse, Thomson was sin-binned for a high tackle as she tried to prevent the score and the home side were really up against it now.The visitors made hay with the Scots down a player, Beatrice Rigoni whipping a long ball out for D'Inca to beat the cover defence and score in the corner.Eight points behind and in a hole, Scotland finally started forcing the game down into Italian territory and McGhie skipped through to score and set up a gripping last five minutes.The great Scottish escape act did not materialise as Italy reclaimed the initiative and created space for Muzzo to score her second try of the afternoon and seal a memorable win for the Azzurri.
Line-ups
Scotland: Rollie; Lloyd, Orr, Thomson, McGhie; Nelson, Brebner-Holden; Young, Skeldon, Clarke, Bonar, Boyd, Malcolm (capt), McLachlan, Gallagher.Replacements: Martin, Bartlett, Poolman, Ferrie, Konkel, Stewart, Mattinson, Scott.Italy: Ostuni Minuzzi; Muzzo, Sillari, Rigoni, D'Inca; Stevanin, Stefan; Turani, Vecchini, Seye, Tounesi, Duca, Sgorbini, Veronese, Giordano (capt).Replacements: Spinelli, Stecca, Maris, Fedrighi, Ranuccini, Bitonci, Madia, Mannini.Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SA)TMO: Rachel Horton (Aus)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Chaiwa hopes Champions League experience will help him at Hibernian
Chaiwa hopes Champions League experience will help him at Hibernian

STV News

time29 minutes ago

  • STV News

Chaiwa hopes Champions League experience will help him at Hibernian

Miguel Chaiwa believes his experience of playing in last season's Champions League can help him thrive at Hibernian. The 21-year-old midfielder made an eye-catching debut for the Hibees in Sunday's Premier Sports Cup win away to Livingston after joining earlier this month from Young Boys. Zambia international Chaiwa featured as a substitute in the Swiss side's Champions League play-off win over Galatasaray a year ago and then in their group-phase matches against Celtic and Red Star Belgrade in January. 'It has helped me a lot,' Chaiwa said. 'We played good teams in the Champions League. 'I've got one or two experiences playing against top teams, so it was a really, really good platform for me.' Chaiwa made his Hibs debut on the same day that another player recruited from the Swiss top flight marked his first start for David Gray's side with a goal. Thibault Klidje last month became the Edinburgh club's record signing when he arrived from Luzern for a seven-figure transfer fee. The Togolese forward was restricted to four substitute appearances prior to his maiden start on Sunday as Gray aims to break him into Scottish football gently, but Chaiwa expects his fellow African to make a big impact at Easter Road. 'We played against each other in Switzerland,' he said. 'I knew him personally, he's one of the good guys and has a little bit of shyness in him. 'But I know what he's capable of doing. He's energetic. He can run, he can jump, even though he's short. But he's willing to give everything. 'I think he will do well at Hibs once he gets a run of games, absolutely.' Chaiwa is delighted to have kicked off his Hibs career and is eager to play a part in Thursday's Conference League play-off first leg at home to Legia Warsaw. 'I'm hoping to help the team and my team-mates like they did today,' he said. 'I'm really, really excited to be involved.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country

Rodgers on Vardy links, transfer latest & Inamura absence
Rodgers on Vardy links, transfer latest & Inamura absence

BBC News

time29 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Rodgers on Vardy links, transfer latest & Inamura absence

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been speaking to the media as his side prepare to face Kairat Almaty in Wednesday night's Champions League play-off first leg. Here are the main points:Rodgers declined to elaborate on reports that his former striker at Leicester, Jamie Vardy, is keen to reunite with the Northern Irishman at Celtic. The Celtic boss says he won't speak about an "individual player" but admits he "worked well with Jamie" during his time at Leicester. Rodgers admits he doesn't know whether the club is waiting to see what European competition it's playing in before bringing in the new signings he did, however, add that he's assuming no more players will arrive in time for the play-off matches with Kairat knows his side are "going into games that mean everything" but stresses "if we don't have it within the building now, we have to work with what's here".The manager says he's "confident" the current squad is good enough to get past the Kazakh champions and qualify for the league phase, which Rodgers says Celtic would "have to improve the squad" was also asked if the club is "world class in the transfer market", to which he replied: "I don't know about world class... we just want to be in the best place possible."Rodgers added that he doesn't "want a situation where I look frustrated or am frustrated" as the "emotional transfer" of that can affect about the absence of recent signing Hayato Inamura from both the domestic and European squads, Rodgers says the 23-year-old's defensive qualities are not yet where they need to example Rodgers cited was he wouldn't be able to pitch Inamura in against someone like Lamine Yamal.

Daredevil tourists are told to stop cliff-diving in Italy days after man plunged on to rocks to his death at beauty spot
Daredevil tourists are told to stop cliff-diving in Italy days after man plunged on to rocks to his death at beauty spot

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

Daredevil tourists are told to stop cliff-diving in Italy days after man plunged on to rocks to his death at beauty spot

Daredevil tourists have been told to stop cliff-jumping in Italy days after a man plunged on to rocks to his death at a popular beauty spot. Francesco Aronica, a 23-year-old American football player, died after hitting his head when he jumped off a rocky cliff at the famous Lama Monachile cove. Originally from Catania, in Sicily, he was on holiday with his friends when the tragedy unfolded on Sunday afternoon in the southern coastal town of Polignano a Mare. The death of Aronica has sparked a furious reaction from residents who are demanding more surveillance and patrols to prevent risktakers from attempting similar stunts. Many have been inspired by the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series - an annual event established in 2009 where competitors dive from heights up to 27 metres and post the jaw-dropping feats online. Footage from the series is popular on social media, with the deadliest stunts attracting millions of views on TikTok. During the six-metre jump, Aronica struck his head on a rock before hitting the water and losing consciousness. Onlookers watched in horror as he surfaced with a serious head injury at the front and top of his skull. Emergency responders arrived quickly and defibrillated him at the tourist hotspot in Italy's south-eastern Apulia region. Defibrillation continued as he was rushed in critical condition to a hospital in nearby Monopoli. By the time he arrived, Aronica was in cardiac arrest, as reported by NeedToKnow. Doctors spent more than an hour attempting to resuscitate him, but were unable to save him and he died in hospital. Anna De Donato, the president of Polignano a Mare's town council, said residents were in shock but that it was impossible to stop people jumping off the cliff. 'It is a different thing when the professionals do it, they have the equipment, the support' Ms De Donato told The Telegraph. 'The tourists need to pay attention and avoid being reckless. I am a mother with a son of the same age and I know they don't listen to their parents' advice.' The town's mayor, Vito Carrieri, said the swift medical response was 'not enough to prevent the tragedy'. Less than 24 hours after the incident, the cliff was reportedly once again crowded with young people diving into the sea. But residents are calling for the authorities to do more to prevent similar accidents, such as introducing lifeguards or banning cliff jumping altogether. 'The municipality should ban this,' one Italian commented on social media. 'A boy died! If it's dangerous it's better to avoid it.' 'I'm so sorry for the family. It's the fault of the police who don't put the ban in place,' another wrote. 'The municipality could do something to prevent people from climbing there,' a third commented. The incident comes amid a surge in fatalities related to drowning in Italy this summer, with a death occurring every two days in lakes and rivers. In 2023, Venice's Mayor Luigi Brugnaro branded a man an 'idiot' after he jumped off a three-story building into a canal. The clip went viral on social media, showing the diver - wearing only boxer shorts - jumping from a rooftop into the water and landing on his stomach. The mayor said he would give the diver a 'certificate of stupidity and a lot of kicks' for the stunt. 'He risked his life in that jump, but he is also a delinquent. They don't understand the danger they create in this city. What if a boat would have been passing below?' Mr Brugnaro said. Last year, a 22-year-old British tourist drowned in an Italian lake after getting into difficulty while on holiday with his girlfriend. Sam Rigby is believed to have been swimming in Lake Como in the Lombardy region of northern Italy with girlfriend Olivia Greenall when he began struggling in the strong currents. Earlier in August, two Vietnamese tourists drowned after they were swept into the sea by strong winds on Sarakiniko Beach on the Greek island of Milos. According to the Greek authorities, the couple were in their 50s and had arrived to the island as part of a cruise ship group. Nicknamed 'Ciccio', Aronica was a talented athlete and played American football for the Catania Elephants in his home town. In a moving tribute, a club spokesperson said: 'Francesco was not just a teammate: he was a friend, a brother, part of our family.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store