Spain fall short in World Cup qualifier
By Harry Scott-Munro
26/9/21
It proved to be heartache on the final day for Patricia Garcia and Laura Delgado, as Spain suffered a 34-10 defeat to Italy that ended their hopes of qualifying for the Rugby World Cup.
In what was a cagey opening, the Italians eventually took the lead in the 14th minute, Lucia Gai powering over for a converted try from a well-worked lineout move. Minutes later, the Italians were in again, centre Michela Sillari collecting a clever kick from Sara Barattin to open up a 12-point lead.
Sillari added a penalty on the half hour mark to further extend the Italian advantage, before Garcia finally managed to get Spain on the board with a penalty not long before half-time.
Come the start of the second-half, the Spanish emerged with renewed confidence, Amaia Erbina almost crossing the whitewash, only for her side to be held up a few phases later.
With 55 minutes on the clock, Amalia Argudo raced onto a pass from Anne Fernandez de Corres to cross for a try under the posts, Garcia reducing the Italian lead to just 5-points.
Sadly though, this was as good as it got for the Spanish, as Italy upped their intensity and stretched clear.
On the 60-minute mark second-row Giordana Duca crossed to restore her side’s 12-point advantage. They would score twice more in the final moments of the match, the first from Veronica Madia securing the bonus-point that effectively sealed their place in New Zealand.
Further gloss would be added to the score-line, as Italy were awarded a penalty try when Barattin was tackled off the ball when she looked set to score.
Speaking at full-time, Spain head coach José Antonio Barrio was understandably disappointed to see his side’s World Cup hopes disappear, although he admitted that the stronger side on the day ultimately won through.
“We gave it everything and when we got back to 15-10 down we thought we could go on and win the game, but after that Italy got stronger and were more clinical than us.”