Italy recovered from a first-half scare as they scored 31 unanswered second-half points to overwhelm Uruguay 38-17 in their Rugby World Cup Pool A game on Wednesday and claim a second consecutive bonus-point win.
Uruguay led 17-7 at the break and were dreaming of a huge upset after a remarkable first half that began well for Italy with a try by Lorenzo Pani but then went badly wrong.
After a penalty try and yellow cards for Niccolo Cannone and Danilo Fischetti, Nicolas Freitas, who scored in last weekend’s 27-12 defeat by France, squeezed in for a second try and Felipe Etcheverry, who missed two penalty attempts, converted it and then landed a drop goal for a shock lead.
Uruguay captain Andres Vilaseca was the next into the sin-bin early in the second half and Italy took full advantage with four tries in 15 minutes by Michele Lamaro, Montanna Ioane, Cannnone and Ignacio Brex as the South Americans tired.
Italy top the Pool A standings with 10 points and still have to play France and New Zealand, who remain odds-on favourites to advance.
