Italy coach Andrea Di Giandomenico is already looking to the future after a Finals Day defeat to Ireland meant they finished fourth in the 2021 Women’s Six Nations.
The third/fourth-place play-off was originally scheduled to be played in Parma but was moved to Dublin in midweek and Ireland made the most of home advantage to prevail 25-5.
Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe notched a try double, while Dorothy Wall and Cliodhna Moloney also crossed, with Melissa Bettoni’s close-range score in the final ten minutes the only joy Italy had.
It was a far cry from the Azzurre side that beat Scotland 41-20 a week ago to set up this battle for third, as the Irish defence was resilient and the visitors struggled to maintain possession and turn the screw.
And Di Giandomenico took responsibility for the defeat, acknowledging that a lack of possession in the first half stopped his side finding their usual rhythm.
“Of course it’s disappointing but congratulations to Ireland for winning the fight,” he said. “There was no precision from our girls but that is my responsibility. We’ll work hard and we’re always looking forward.
“The rhythm comes from going forward and we didn’t have much possession. To not have possession, to not go forward makes the rhythm of the play harder to find.
“We are not happy, of course, but now we’ll reflect on the match, analyse what went wrong and look forward to the future.
“The first reflection is about performance, always. For now it’s the Women’s Six Nations but afterwards it is World Cup qualification. The focus is on the performance immediately after results.”
