Italy player ratings: Shambolic showing as All Blacks hammer the Azzurri

Jared Wright
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Italy's Paolo Garbisi and Michele Lamaro reacts after a try from New Zealand during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between New Zealand and Italy at the OL Stadium in Lyon

Italy's Paolo Garbisi and Michele Lamaro reacts after a try from New Zealand during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match between New Zealand and Italy at the OL Stadium in Lyon

Following their 96-17 loss to the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup, here is how we rated the Italy players in their third worst ever defeat.

15 Tommaso Allan: There were very few Italians that stuck their hands up in this match, but the full-back was one of them. He got his side on the board with a sweetly struck penalty and provided the final pass to Ange Capuozzo’s try. He also put Italy in good areas of the pitch with his line kicks, which were ultimately wasted. 5

14 Ange Capuozzo: The talented winger finished his try well and almost sent Federico Ruzza over in the latter stages, but it was a rather forgettable night as the All Blacks nullified his impact and exposed him on defence. 5

Hard work with little reward

13 Juan Ignacio Brex: Certainly no lack of effort from the outside centre, who constantly attempted to get his side back in the game. However, he is Italy’s defensive captain, and the Azzurri were ripped apart. 4

12 Luca Morisi: The All Blacks flogged the channels between Paolo Garbisi and Morisi, and they just couldn’t handle it. He often made the tackle, but more often than not, it was behind the advantage line. 3

11 Monty Ioane: He did brilliantly to set up Capuozzo’s try by fending off Rieko Ioane, but was targeted and picked apart on defence. Claimed a consolation try. 4

10 Paolo Garbisi: It was a tough night for the young pivot, who was in shot for just about every All Blacks try as he was battered on the gain-line. He did have some good moments on attack, but the negatives far outweighed the positives. 3

9 Stephen Varney: Couldn’t have done much better in his attempt to stop Will Jordan for the opening score. He had a few bad passes but needed to be given a platform to work from. 4

Bullied up front

8 Lorenzo Cannone: Ineffective on both sides of the ball and rather anonymous from a usually brilliant player. 3

7 Michele Lamaro: Hard working as per usual but had little success, missing two key tackles and got little ground in attacking with his carries and passes. He did win a turnover but was replaced with the game out of Italy’s reach. 4

6 Sebastian Negri: Some great strong ball carries and the top tackler while he was on the pitch, finishing with 13 in total. Italy were poor tonight, but Negri wasn’t when he was on the park. 6

5 Federico Ruzza: The lineout general had a torrid time at the set-piece and while he made his tackles, it was still a poor shift. 4

4 Dino Lamb: Part of a failing tight five, conceded two penalties and a turnover. 3

3 Marco Riccioni: Replaced after the hour mark after a rather poor shift, including three missed tackles, conceded a penalty and was rinsed in the scrums after the break. 3

2 Giacomo Nicotera: He had a perfect lineout success rate heading into the game, but it was an entirely different story against the All Blacks, failing to find his jumper three times in the opening 50 minutes. Made a poor tackle attempt for Ardie Savea’s first try, too. 3

1 Danilo Fischetti: An injury cut his game short, lasting just 18 minutes. He made his tackles and was solid in the few scrums he contested. 4

Replacements: No real standouts from the bench as the All Blacks continued to tear the Italians to shreds. Paolo Odogwu sent Ioane through for a try, but that was after costing one earlier. 4

READ MORE: All Blacks thrash Italy, scoring 96 points in statement Rugby World Cup victory

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