Italy delivered a commanding performance on Friday, overwhelming Namibia 73-6 in Windhoek as a warm-up for their upcoming two-Test series against South Africa.
Fullback Jacopo Trullo was the standout player, scoring three tries in the dominant victory.
The Italian team took the lead right away after being given a penalty try three minutes in, and Namibia’s hooker, Louis van der Westhuizen, was also sin-binned.
Credit: TimesLIVE
Although Namibia’s fly-half Tiaan Swanepoel narrowed the deficit to a single point with two penalties after 15 minutes at Hage Geingob Stadium, they failed to score again for the remainder of the match.
Italy quickly took control, with Trullo crossing the tryline twice in the first half, alongside tries from inside centre Leonardo Marin, winger Simone Gesi, and outside centre Tommaso Menoncello. Fly-half Giacomo Da Re successfully converted four of five tries, giving Italy a substantial 40-6 lead at halftime.
The second half continued similarly, as the visitors added further tries through scrum-half Alessandro Fusco, replacements Mirco Spagnolo and Stephen Varney, and Trullo’s third. Italy rounded off the scoring with another penalty try. Da Ra added two more conversions in the second half, and Varney converted one.
The Italian team will now travel to South Africa to face the world champion Springboks. The first Test is scheduled for July 5 in Pretoria, followed by the second on July 12 in Gqeberha.
