Italy have been crowned Division B champions at the IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007 after defeating Canada 22-3 in a tense and physical final at Shaw’s Bridge in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Friday 20 April.
With Italian rugby already on a high in 2007 after their senior national side enjoyed their best ever campaign in the RBS Six Nations, their next generation of players gave cause for further celebrations with a performance full of grit and determination.
The Italian backline have looked dangerous throughout the tournament and they struck again in the 10th minute following a break down the right wing by prop Massimiliano Ravalle. From the resulting ruck, fly half Riccardo Bocchino received the ball and passed to captain Alberto Chiesa.
The centre broke through the Canadian defence before taking on their full back. Chiesa was tackled five metres from the line, but he had the strength to drag tackler over the line with him to score the opening points of the final. Bocchino converted to give Italy an early 7-0 lead.
Canada though also had their captain Nathan Hirayama to thank for opening their account, the fly half slotting a penalty between the posts in the 15th minute. However this was cancelled out by a penalty from Bocchino to give Italy a 10-3 advantage at half time.
Impressive backline
The second half saw Canada try to put more pressure on the Italian defence, but too many handling errors combined with an organised defence prevented them from getting the points needed to get themselves back into the game.
Instead it was Italy who stretched their lead after only two minutes of the second half when their strong forward pack drove full back Francesco Fiorani driven over the line for his side’s second try. The conversion was missed by Bocchino, but the try put them more than a single score ahead.