At the Olympic Stadium in Rome, in front of 70 thousand enthusiastic spectators, the Italian national rugby team beat the very strong Scotland 31-29 after an epic comeback. It is a historic victory: in the Six Nations tournament, the Azzurri had not beaten the Scots at the Olympic Stadium for 11 years. The new Azzurri coach, Argentina's Gonzalo Quesada, was beaming at the end: "This is just the beginning, we have found our identity. I saw heart, sacrifice and play." It was a thrilling finale, with Scotland holding possession of the oval in the last seven minutes trying to recover from 31 to 22 and almost succeeding by scoring a try going on 31 to 29. The Scottish onslaught was not enough: Italy held on, clean and effective in defense and tackles, no fouls, no flaws, lots of concentration even in the final fatigue. Mentally this is a very important victory, one that makes this young team realize that so much can be done, that results can come and that no game is precluded, not even the one in Wales next Saturday.
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