Italy has defeated England in their Rugby League World Cup warm up match 15-14 in what has to be one of the biggest upsets in the games history.
England took a 14-12 lead into half time and held into that lead until late in the game. An Italian penalty kick levelled things up and with just 90 second remaining in the match a field goal saw Italy take easily their biggest win in international Rugby League.
It must be remember that this is just a warm up match. Most teams are looking to get a run under their belts and are not too worried about the result. Just over 4,000 Rugby League tickets were sold for this match which was not too bad for a warm up game.
For England to lose to Italy though, at home, it’s shocking. It simply should not have happened and will be a crushing blow to England’s confidence as they look ahead to a matchup against Australia.
For Italy, this is simply and amazing effort. Yes most of their squad isn’t really Italian, but for the players they named this is a huge win. One they will no doubt look back on for many years to come with great pride.
I’m still in shock by this result. When I saw the players Italy had put on notice for possible World Cup duty a few months ago I said they might give England a scare. For them to win on English soil is simply amazing.
England should have won this match easily. They now have a lot of questions to ask themselves about their preparation, their tactics, and their ability to rebound from this embarrassing loss in time for the matches that really mean something.
If Italy can beat England on home soil, what is Australia going to do to them!
Deafened? Were they shouting at England?