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A. Muzzo (2', 79'), A. Frangipani (7'), A. D'Inca (24'), V. Vecchini (28'), G. Duca (31'), V. Minuzzi (46'), F. Sgorbini (60'), M. Tonellotto (69')
Tries
N. Asari (11'), A. Kuge (14'), M. Kawamura (76')
A. D'Inca (8'), F. Granzotto (25', 32', 61'), B. Rigoni (70')
Conversions
M. Nishi (11', 15', 77')
This was billed as a check on where a seasoned core and a new voice from full-back could take Italy against a Japan side just starting a new cycle. It answered that cleanly. Italy leaned on experience down the spine, played at their preferred tempo, and were ruthless enough in the red zone that the contest never truly felt unstable once they found their groove.
The other truth it underlined: discipline and set piece still decide matches between contrasting styles. Japan’s ambition around the ball was evident in spurts, but they fed Italy’s scoreboard with penalties and lineout inaccuracy. When the visitors tried to lift the pace, Italy slowed the ruck and forced them to play off traffic. That’s where this fixture has usually lived, and it did again.
Plinio Sciamanna had said, “We’ve chosen a line-up that blends experience with new faces for a test against an opponent we’ve met often in recent years — a team that can be dangerous and will test us — as we begin to bed in the first phase of our work.” It looked exactly that. With Sofia Stefan steering calmly at nine, Silvia Turani anchoring a clean scrum and Vittoria Vecchini, Giordana Duca and Francesca Sgorbini punching holes, Italy controlled the gain line and therefore the rhythm.
Japan did land a counterpunch. Having been hit early out wide by Aura Muzzo and then through lock Alessandra Frangipani, they struck back through Nami Asari and hooker Asuka Kuge off quick rucks, with Moe Tsukui hustling the tempo. For a few minutes the visitors had Italy chasing ankles. That window closed because they couldn’t stop infringing, and because Italy’s pack squeezed field position off restarts and lineouts.
The match turned across one brutal stretch before the break. Trailing 12–14 after Japan’s surge, Italy’s midfield and tight five imposed themselves: Alyssa D’Incà cut through for a strike, Vecchini finished from close range, and Duca added another heavy carry try. Three scores in eight minutes flipped control back to the hosts and, with it, the terms of the contest. Japan’s defence stayed game but their penalty count kept them pinned and the scoreboard ticking.
Any thought of a chase after half-time was snuffed by the captain herself. On her 50th cap and first as skipper, Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi hit the line from deep just after the interval to reopen the gap and settle Italy’s shape. From there Sgorbini’s try off another direct carry and Margherita Tonellotto’s late finish underlined a pack that was consistently winning post-contact and arriving in numbers.
Italy’s numbers back up the eye test. They missed just five tackles and conceded only three penalties, while Japan were pinged 17 times and went 4/7 at the lineout. Italy were perfect on their own scrum and had enough lineout ball, if not flawless at 12/18, to keep the hammer down. Japan made more tackles because they had to; they also fell off too many in the 15-metre channels, where D’Incà and the back three asked repeated questions.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAKS
TACKLE
TACKLES MISSED
TURNOVERS WON
PENALTIES CONCEDED
YELLOW CARDS
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Individually, D’Incà’s influence was decisive: sharp feet, a clean break for her try and the calm to knock over an early conversion when needed, before Francesca Granzotto and, later, Beatrice Rigoni shared the tee. Sgorbini’s 11 carries and a try told you where Italy were winning, while Duca grafted for 10 tackles and 38 metres to keep momentum on front-foot ball. Turani’s shift at loosehead helped deliver a 100% scrum, and Vecchini’s try reflected the pack’s edge around the goal-line. Out wide, Muzzo bookended the day with finishes in the second and 79th minutes — clinical, low-touch impact from a wing who stays switched on.
Japan weren’t empty. Tsukui and full-back Maiko Nishi stitched together their best passages, and late on lock Masami Kawamura earned a try during an exchange of yellow cards that left it 14 v 14 for a spell. The problem was what sat between those moments: too much time spent absorbing carries without slowing ball, too many offsides and breakdown penalties when Italy built phases, and a lineout that couldn’t give them consistent launch. Number eight Jennifer Nduka’s 70th-minute card summed up the pressure they were under; the damage was largely done by then.
Does the margin flatter Italy? Not really. Nine tries to three felt about right given the mismatch in discipline and collision dominance. If anything, Italy will be irritated by the early lapse that let Japan lead 14–12 and the cheap concession late while down a player. The lineout at 67% is also a red flag with South Africa up next in the same venue; they won’t be as forgiving there.
For Japan, the opening quarter showed the attacking identity under Toshizumi Kitagawa can trouble sides when the ruck is clean and the ball is moved before contact. But at this level you can’t gift the opposition territory and repeat entries. Fixing the penalty count and finding a steadier lineout are non-negotiables before Ireland. The shape is promising; the platform isn’t.
For Italy, this was exactly the launch Sciamanna and Ostuni Minuzzi wanted: controlled tempo, disciplined, and enough sting in both midfield and tight five to tilt the contest their way. Keep the penalty count where it was, sharpen the lineout, and tidy those soft patches, and the Azzurre will feel well set for South Africa and a trip to the USA. The spine looked settled. The leadership sounded clear. That tends to travel.
