Rugby News

New Zealand vs Italy result, highlights and analysis as 14-try All Blacks make huge World Cup statement

September 29, 2023

New Zealand put on a rugby-playing masterclass to vanquish Italy at the Stade Olympique Lyonnais, crossing for an eye-watering 14 tries in their Rugby World Cup pool stage encounter. An Aaron Smith hat-trick, braces for Will Jordan, Ardie Savea and Dane Coles, and four more individual scorers put the lacklustre Azzurri to the sword, who despite scoring twice themselves, were given the most brutal of lessons by the relentless firepower of New Zealand.

Barely seven minutes had passed before the All Blacks opened the scoring, as Will Jordan fielded a high Beauden Barrett kick to finish expertly in the corner. That set the tone for the rest of the match, with New Zealand pulling out every party trick in their arsenal to leave Italy clutching at straws.

A Tommaso Allan penalty was quickly followed up by three All Black tries in just seven minutes, with Smith, Savea and Mark Telea all crossing from close range following end-to-end breaks. With a bonus point secured inside 22 minutes, New Zealand crossed three more times in the first half alone. Smith and Savea both peeled off the back of mauls to crash over, the latter right on half-time, with these two scores coming either side of the scrum-half finishing off Jordie Barrett’s break to complete hit hat-trick.

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 29, 2src23

The All Blacks would match their seven-try haul in the second period, but it was the Azzurri who secured first points after the break, Ange Capuozzo diving over in the same corner as Jordan following a rare spell of Italian possession. The procession would soon continue though, with New Zealand hitting straight back via Brodie Retallick’s close-range finish.

The final quarter really saw the All Blacks begin to pull away (as if they weren’t far enough ahead already!), as forwards Dalton Papalii and Dane Coles took advantage of Italy’s sloppy line-out to add scores nine and 1src. Damian McKenzie scored almost immediately after coming on to the pitch, before Jordan and Coles both dotted down their second tries in the right-hand corner.

A fast break through the middle allowed replacements Cam Roigard and Anton Lienert-Brown to combine for the All Blacks’ 14th and final try, and a late Italian surge saw them round off the scoring through Monty Ioane, whose finish was similarly impressive to Jordan’s opener. A 97-17 scoreline makes grim reading, and not only for the downbeat Azzurri. New Zealand were simply unstoppable for the vast majority of this game, and despite losing to France in their opener, there isn’t a single side on the planet that will be keen to face the All Blacks after they’ve shown just how ruthless they can be.

New Zealand brush aside Italy with emphatic win 🔥#RWC2src23 | #NZLvITA pic.twitter.com/sYv8rGCg5M

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 29, 2src23

Awesome All Blacks send timely reminder to the rest

After being outplayed by South Africa and France either side of the opening ceremony, you could have been mistaken for discounting the All Blacks as one of the major tournament favourites – but those predictions have been torn up, shredded, torched thanks to this game. Not a single Italian mistake went unpunished as Ian Foster’s side took ruthlessness and relentless points-scoring to an entirely new level in Lyon, turning on the style to run in try after try. And boy, when this All Black side turn on the style with ball in hand, good luck to anyone brave or daft enough to try and stop them.

Azzurri’s steady progress takes one hell of a hit

Prior to this World Cup, the development of Italy’s current crop of youthful, exciting players has seen them become one of the most watchable sides in rugby, totting up massive results against several of the biggest hitters, and pushing most of the others closer than ever before. However, the manner in which they were pulverised into submission by the All Blacks shows just how long, difficult and painful the road to the top will be for the Azzurri, and they’ll need to get over this thrashing quickly if they’re to produce a response against the hosts next weekend.

MORE: Why is the New Zealand rugby union side called the All Blacks?

The Sporting News followed the match live, providing live updates and commentary below.

New Zealand vs Italy full-time score

	1H	2H	FT
New Zealand	49	47	96
Italy	3	14	17

Tries: Jordan (2), Smith (3), Telea, Savea (2), Retallick, Papalii, Coles (2), McKenzie, Lienert-Brown; Capuozzo, Ioane

Conversions: Mo’unga (9), McKenzie (4); Allan, Garbisi

Penalties: Allan

New Zealand vs Italy full commentary, highlights

FT: And that’s us wrapped for the night! Seven tries in either half see the All Blacks storm home with maximum points, an extra +79 in the points difference column, and above Italy in Pool A. Another big win against Uruguay in their final pool stage match is just the preparation New Zealand will fancy ahead of the knockouts, while Italy gear up to face an arguably even better side in hosts France. We wish them luck, as on tonight’s viewing, they might well need it in spades. We’ll see you then!

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 29, 2src23

FT: The full-time whistle goes, bringing to an end one of the most dominant performances this tournament is ever likely to see. Many fancies Italy to give the All Blacks a run for their money, but if they were broken by the first half, the Azzurri were well and truly finished off in the second as New Zealand ran in seven more tries. Italy did manage to score two of their own, but the ease and pace at which the All Blacks racked up the points in Lyon shows that they are still the world’s best side when in this kind of mood, and the Azzurri simply had no answer to the rugby clinic put on show for all to see by the men in black.

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) September 29, 2src23

81 mins: TRY – New Zealand 96-17 Italy! The Azzurri do get the final say! Ioane and Odogwu combine down the right, finding one another with successive offloads before Ioane just manages to get the ball down in the corner! Garbisi converts, as Italy finish with a small positive in what’s been a performance they will otherwise forget in a hurry.

8src mins: Savea is dispossessed just inches from the tryline and Italy come away with possession. Brex regathers his own clearing kick to take the Azzurri over halfway, as they chase a late try to take something away from this game!

78 mins: A big Paolo Odogwu carry takes Italy into the 22, and the Azzurri push the ball wide to the left. Capuozzo’s offload sends Niccolo Cannone to with five metres, but Garbisi is pinged for an illegal clear-out at the next ruck and it’s a New Zealand penalty!

76 mins: TRY – New Zealand 96-1src Italy! They’re closing in on a century! Roigard takes an inside pass off the New Zealand line-out to race into wide open space. Engaging the fullback, he pops the ball out to Lienert-Brown, who scoots over untouched to dot down the his side’s fourteenth! McKenzie converts from right in front, with the All Blacks one score away from a century.

73 mins: TRY – New Zealand 89-1src Italy! And there’s number 13! After Ioane and McKenzie burst into the back-field, New Zealand win another penalty and take the quick tap. It’s thrown out to Coles on the right wing, who dots down his second of the game, and McKenzie slots over another conversion to add further polish to this one-sided scoreline!

7src mins: TRY – New Zealand 82-1src Italy! They’re over again! A loose ball breaks for Jordan, who chips over the top and gives chase alongside Savea. A nightmare bounces evades Garbisi, and the beneficiary Savea offloads for Jordan to score his second! McKenzie converts, as New Zealand notch their 12th of the night.

68 mins: TRY – New Zealand 75-1src Italy! They’re over again! Off the back of another dominant scrum, the ball comes out to McKenzie, who dummies, steps and busts through the tackle of Garbisi to score try number 11! McKenzie converts his own try to extended the scoreline further, and this All Black dominance is just not letting up here.

65 mins: Damian McKenzie’s on for Mo’unga, and lobs a pass wide for Jordan to canter into open space. The fly-half follows up in support, as does Beauden Barrett, but a Sam Cane knock-on from the next phase halts the All Blacks’ momentum.

63 mins: Strong carries from Niccolo Cannone and Brex take the Azzurri forward, but Page-Relo is held up in the ruck and the All Blacks win yet another breakdown penalty!

61 mins: TRY – New Zealand 68-1src Italy! The All Blacks have their tenth try! From a penalty line-out, it’s played short and replacement hooker Coles races down the flank to score in the corner with only his second touch of the ball! All too easy for the All Blacks, as Mo’unga misses his first conversion of the night.