MARSEILLE - Italy got their rugby World Cup campaign back on track but were far from impressive in beating Romania 24-18 in pool C this morning (NZT).
Italy, thumped 76-14 by New Zealand in their opener, led 8-0 at the break after failing to assert having breached Romania'sdefence after just six minutes, lock Santiago Dellape scoring in the corner.
David Bortolussi's penalty extended the lead but Romania pulled to within three points three minutes after halftime when Alexandru Manta bundled over after a lineout.
With their tails up, Romanian hooker Marius Tincu caught Italy out by picking up from the base of a ruck to add a second try but Pierre Berbizier's side were then awarded a penalty try after some sustained pressure with Romania down to 14 men.
Three Ramiro Pez penalties extended the advantage before Ionut Dimofte's replied to earn Romania a point for losing by less than seven points.
SCORERS:
Italy 24 (Santiago Dellape, penalty try tries; Ramiro Pez 3 pen, con, David Bortolussi pen) bt Romania 18 (Alexandru Manta, Marius Tincu tries; Ionut Dimofte 2 pen, con). Halftime: 8-0
