UNICUSANO LIVORNO RUGBY – LAZIO 10-36
UNICUSANO LIVORNO: Council; Citi, Pirruccio, Martinucci (7′ st Lenzi G.), Zannoni N.; Baraona Prat (1′ st Tomaselli J.), Rossi (24′ st Meini); De Biaggio, Freschi L., Freschi E. (26′ st Bitossi); Gragnani Giac. (cap.), Chiti (10′ st Gambini); Boggero (20′ st Ficarra), Echazu Molina (27′ st Giammattei), Andreotti (31′ st Fourth). All.: Riccardo Squarcini.
LAZIO: Giovannini; Herrera Rezzonico (17′ st Cioffi), Gianni (30′ st Biondini), Cruciani (13′ st Bianco), Santarelli; Donato DL, Albanian; Donato JR, Pilati (cap.) (30′ st Zacchilli), Parlatore; Sommer, Tomasini (27′ st Cecchinelli); Silla (27′ st D’Aleo), Gisonni (14′ st Corvasce), Criach (25′ st Hliwa). All.: Alfredo De Angelis.
REFEREE: Alberto Pellegrino of Reggio Emilia (assists: Daniele Biagioni of La Spezia and Oscar Muscio of Pistoia).
MARKERS: in the pt (10-17) 6′ m. Boggero tr. Baraona Prat, 11′ cp Donato DL, 33′ m. Albanian tr. Donato DL, 37′ cp Pirruccio, 40′ m. Sommer tr. Donato DL; in the st 5′ m. Silla, 11′ m. Santarelli tr. Donato DL, 38’m. Biondini tr. Donato DL.
NOTE: temporary expulsion for Donato JR (24′ st). Set pieces: Baraona Prat 0/2, Donato DL 1/1. In the standings 0 points for Unicusano Livorno Rugby, who lost by a margin of more than seven points and did not secure the attack bonus (one try scored) and 5 for Lazio, who won and secured the bonus -attack (five tries scored).
LIVORNO. The thunderous applause from the large crowd at the end of the last match of the season is worth much more than a thousand words and a thousand comments: Unicusano Livorno Rugby played a great championship. A worthy conclusion to a championship tournament, ennobled by many satisfactions (read the 14 victories achieved over the 22 days), the beautiful match played against the very strong league leaders Lazio. The Romans, as predicted, conquered the lawn of the glorious ‘Carlo Montano’ Argentine pitch, collected the maximum (read success seasoned with the attack bonus) and concluded their fabulous regular season with 105 points out of the 110 potentially available. The Capitoline Biancocelesti, who have not (and rightly so) granted discounts to their opponents, have thus sharpened their weapons in view of the playoffs, the decisive phase for promotion to the A Elite. The final result of 10-36 (a try to five), at least in terms of size, does not reflect the progress of the match. The green and whites, who showed off important qualities and gave space to four athletes born in 2005 (the fullback Leonardo Giunta was in great form, employed for the entire eighty minutes, and the contribution of his peers Giorgio Lenzi, Edoardo Giammattei was invaluable and Tommaso Gambini, who came on during the second half) would have deserved a less obvious deficit. Riccardo Squarcini’s boys slip to fifth place in the standings and fail to enter the new A1 championship. The Labronici team will play the A2 championship in the 2024/25 season. Presumably Unicusano Livorno will once again be included in the central-south group. At the start, for each group, there will be ten teams: only 18 games will be played in the regular season.
The picture of results from 22° ed last day of Serie A, group 3 (points valid for the ranking in brackets): Primavera Roma – Paganica 36-29 (5-2); Unicusano Livorno Rugby – Lazio 10-36 (); Villa Pamphili Rome – Capitolina Rome 14-43 (0-5); Roma Olimpic – Civitavecchia 21-23 (1-4); Cavalieri Prato/Sesto – Avezzano 52-12 (5-0); Napoli/Afragola – UR Florence 20-7 (4-0). The ranking the final: Lazio 105 p.; Knights 99; Avezzano 79; Capitoline Rome 73; Unicusano Livorno 69; Roma Olimpic 55; Civitavecchia 52; Florence’31 39; Villa Pamphili and Naples/Afragola 36; Paganica and Primavera 19. Lazio, as first-placed, and the Cavalieri, as the best second-placed team in the three groups, enter – together with CUS Torino and Verona, first-placed in the other two groups of Serie A – to the playoffs for the Elite A division. The three losers of the playoffs, together with the other two second – Biella and Petrarca Padova cadetta -, the three third – Parabiago, Paese and Avezzano – and the two best fourth – Tarvisium and Capitolina – will participate in the new A1 championship next season . There are no relegations to Serie B.
Unicusano superb in the first minutes. Prop Boggero, after a good team initiative, scored the goal with which, already in the 6th minute, the home team broke the deadlock and broke the score. Fly-half Barona Prat converts: 7-0. Lazio doesn’t want to ‘overdo it’ and prefers to play it safe in the 11th minute with opener Daniel Lewis Donato: 7-3. Baraona Prat (the only false note of Labronici’s entire season) misses two finishes (23′ and 29′). In the 33rd minute, the guests overtook, with a goal from the capable Albanese midfielder, converted by Daniel Lewis Donato: 7-10. With a not difficult penalty from center Guido Luca Pirruccio, the Labronici achieved parity in the 37th minute, 10-10. The strong try from the second row Sommer (40′), converted by the usual Daniel Lewis Donato, allows the Romans to definitively put their noses ahead: 10-17 at the halfway point of the match. In the second half, despite a thousand efforts, Unicusano did not score any points. Lazio confirms all its qualities. A cynical and decidedly valid team at every stage, in all sectors and in all departments. The guests, with goals from prop Silla (5′), winger Santarelli (11′) and center Biondini (38′), seasoned with two conversions from Daniel Lewis Donato, made the final breakthrough. It ends 10-36, but for the Unicusano it is a defeat suffered with a very high head. It is impossible, in the presence of a team that legitimately aims for promotion to the A Elite, to do anything more. A truly brilliant season for the Labronians. With this team, largely made up of young players born and raised in their thriving academy, we can look to tomorrow and the day after with confidence and optimism.
