Italians hang on to edge Canada 20-18 in rugby test match at BMO Field

TORONTO -- A late penalty gave Italy a 20-18 comeback win over Canada in a scrappy rugby test match Sunday afternoon.

Down 18-17, substitute Carlo Canna made the decisive kick from close range in the 72nd minute after a back-and-forth game dominated by penalties.

Canna was yellow-carded in the 76th minute for a high tackle on Dan Moor, reducing the Italians to 14 men. But Italy, keeping the ball in the Canadian half, held on to kill off the clock.

Italy came into the game ranked 13th in the world compared to No. 17 Canada, holding a 6-2-0 edge in head-to-head meetings. Canada last beat Italy 22-17 in Rovigo in 2000.

The Canadian men had their chances Sunday but failed to get the offence going and paid for mistakes. The Italians weren't much better although both teams enjoyed some success with the rolling maul.

Ornel Gega scored a try for Italy while Tommaso Allan kicked four penalties

Gord McRorie, who was good on seven of eight kicks last week in a 26-point performance against Russia, booted six penalties for Canada. He did not miss a kick on the day.

The game was played on a hot 25-degree day at BMO Field before a crowd of 13,125. The noon kickoff did little to help ticket sales.

It was 9-9 after a choppy first half with mistakes on both sides leading to breakdowns in play and a slew of penalties.

Canada laid siege on the Italian goal-line early in the second half but had to settle for a McRorie penalty and a 12-9 lead in the 48th minute.

An offside penalty in front of the posts allowed Italy to tie the game at 12-12. McRorie's long-distance penalty in the 54th put Canada back in front after the Italians were penalized for going off their feet at the breakdown.

Italy pulled ahead 17-15 in the 59th minute via a Gega try at the end of a rolling maul after Italy elected to kick into touch near the goal-line after Canada was penalized.

McRorie made Italy pay for going offside, putting Canada back in the lead 18-17 in the 66th minute.

An Italian go-ahead try in the 69th minute was nullified after review for a knock-on in front of the posts.

The game marked the end of a busy week at BMO Field with soccer Tuesday, CFL football Thursday and test rugby Sunday.

The grass on the west sideline, where the CFL benches were for the Argos home opener, looked a little worn three days later. The football yardlines were also slightly visible. The grounds crew, however, has six days before Toronto FC plays next Saturday.

Coach Mark Anscombe made just one change to the starting 15 that thumped Russia 46-21 last weekend in Calgary with Ciaran Heran coming in for Mozac Samson. It was a milestone day for the 30-year-old centre from Conception Bay South, N.L., who became the 16th player to earn 50 caps for Canada.

Hearn will remember the game. French referee Alex Ruiz sent him to the sin bin in the 27th minute for a tip-tackle on an Italian.

Italian prop Lorenzo Cittadini also won his 50th cap.

The Canadian men opened the June international series with a 26-22 loss to Japan in Vancouver.

Italy opened its tour with a 30-24 loss to Argentina in Santa Fe before beating the U.S. 24-20 in San Jose.

Hearn was just one of four players in Canada's lineup Sunday who started in the 23-18 loss to the Italians at last fall's World Cup. Canada led 10-0 in the early going that day and dominated the offensive statistics with 59 per cent of the possession but could not translate that advantage into a win.

Italy went ahead 3-0 in the eighth minute on an Allan penalty after a scrum violation by McRorie. The Canadian scrum half made amends a with a successful kick after a fine run by Taylor Paris, who was named man of the match, led to an Italian penalty at the breakdown.

An offside penalty set up another Allan penalty for a 6-3 lead in the 15th minute.

Canada went for the corner on the 22nd minute rather than kick a penalty from a sharp angle. That led to a McRorie penalty and the scrum half added another in the 32nd minute to put Canada ahead 9-6. Allan tied it up with a penalty in the 35th minute.

The teams exchanged penalties during Hearn's 10 minutes in the sin-bin.

Like Canada, the Italians are also under new management. Conor O'Shea, former Ireland fullback and director of rugby for England's Harlequins, took over as head coach in June.

O'Shea made five changes, as well as a positional switch, from the team that beat the U.S. That included Maxime Mbanda coming in for Canadian-born Robert Barbieri at blindside flanker.