Italy player ratings: Brilliant Juan Ignacio Brex the standout as Azzurri fall to Wales

Jared Wright
Italy fell to a 29-17 defeat to Wales in Round 4 of the Six Nations, failing to replicate their heroics in Cardiff last year. Here is who we rated the players in the loss. 

Italy fell to a 29-17 defeat to Wales in Round Four of the Six Nations, failing to replicate their heroics in Cardiff last year. Here is who we rated the players in the loss.

15 Tommaso Allan: He got in some superb positions in the first half but was wasteful in producing the final product. Brilliantly set up Italy’s first try with a chip over the top for Sebastian Negri. A net negative overall for the man tasked with filling in for Ange Capouzzo. 4

14 Edoardo Padovani: He had some bright moments with ball in hand, but his defence let the side down. Rhys Webb kicked where Padovani should have been the defending for Rio Dyer’s try, while the Azzurri speedster could have done much better for Taulupe Faletau’s try. 4

Brilliant Brex

13 Juan Ignacio Brex: He came agonisingly close to scoring in the first half and was unlucky not to. His work rate was off the charts once again, and he was finally rewarded in the second half when he got on the end of Pierre Bruno’s offload to score. He has been one of Italy’s best this Six Nations and today was no different. 7

12 Tommaso Menoncello: Started the match with a bang landing a big hit on Liam Williams. He had some excellent moments with ball in hand to break through the Welsh defence and kept it honest. A handful of hiccups but is starting to settle in the midfield at Test level. 6

11 Pierre Bruno: A disappointing 60 minutes or so from the speedster, he made the silly decision to let the ball bounce twice for Dyer’s try. He visited the sin-bin for a high elbow, which could have been worse. His offload to Brex was sublime. 5

10 Paolo Garbisi: Flashes of brilliance as he tried to ignite the Italian attack, but that was paired with uncharacteristic blunders. When he was dictating play, he was excellent but overall, an average performance. 5

9 Stephen Varney: Wales dominated the game for most of the time Varney was on the pitch. He did make an excellent try-saving tackle on Josh Adams. Italy’s attack improved when Alessandro Fusco took over at half-back. 5

8 Lorenzo Cannone: Yellow-carded and conceded the penalty try when he dragged Wales’ maul down. He was a threat with the ball in hand once again, racking up over 50 metres from six carries. He should have done better in tackling Liam Williams in the first half. 5

7 Michele Lamaro: Visually frustrated with some decisions going against his side, but Lamaro did not let his emotions get away from him with the referee. His performance was up to his usual high standard playing a pivotal role on both sides of the ball. 6

6 Sebastian Negri: A strong 53 minutes from Italy’s form back-rower. He spotted the chance for the chip over the top early in the second half and took it superbly. Negri was again effective with the ball in hand and solid on defence. 6 

5 Federico Ruzza: Workmanlike performance from the second-row epitomised by his efforts in the build-up to the disallowed try in the first half. The go-to man in the lineout and busy at the breakdown. Worked hard with little success. 5

4 Niccolo Cannone: A quiet performance from the second-rower. Conceded a penalty, missed a few tackles and had little success with the ball in hand. There was a step up when Edoardo Iachizzi replaced him. 4

3 Simone Ferrari: A stop-start game for the tighthead due to his injury. Busy defensively and put pressure on Wyn Jones in the scrums. 5

2 Giacomo Nicotera: Wales managed to pick off a few of his lineout throws, and when they stole the first, Nicotera immediately conceded a penalty to compound the error. Put in a big shift on defence. 4

1 Danilo Fischetti: Early in the match he and Ferrari had the upper hand in the scrums but that did not continue throughout the match. He did have success with his carries, gaining over 40 metres. 5

Replacements: The game was largely out of Italy’s hands by the time Kieran Crowley started injecting his bench into the game. However, they did make their presence known when they did get on. They picked up the pace of the Azzurri attack. Iachizzi, Manuel Zuliani and Fusco were the real standouts. 7

READ MORE: Wales claim bonus-point win over wasteful Italy to move off bottom spot