Autumn Internationals/Italy 43; USA 25: An experimental Italy side survived a second-half scare to beat the US in their final November Test match at Biella, near Turin, on Saturday.
Four tries, including a brace for winger Kaine Robertson, put the Azzurri 30-3 up at the end of the first half, but Paul Emerick's score soon after the break signalled the start of a fight back by the visitors before the nervy Italians regrouped.
Italy coach John Kirwan opted to field a relatively young side, and they started smoothly and took the lead in the seventh minute, when outhalf Luciano Orquera slipped through the visitors' backline to put Robertson in to score.
Orquera missed the conversion, but American indiscipline gave him the chance to slot over a penalty soon after.
Robertson struck again midway through the half with a superb jinking, solo run after the powerful Cristian Stoica had got through the opposition line.
Stoica's fellow centre, Walter Pozzebon, exploited another gaping hole to score Italy's third try on the half hour.
In the 37th minute, with the visitors pressed back on their line, Stoica grabbed Italy's fourth by running onto Orquera's up-and-under.
Outhalf Mike Hercus finally notched up the first points for his side with a penalty on the stroke of half-time.
Italy led comfortably 30-3 and seemed well in control, but Emerick signalled a shift in the balance of the match when he dived over the line five minutes after the restart.
In the final, nervy minutes Hercus could have cut the lead even further had it not been for a last-ditch tackle.
ITALY: De Marigny; Robertson, Pozzebon, Stoica (Barbini 63), Nitoglia; Orquera (Scanavacca 67), Griffen; Lo Cicero, Ongaro (capt), Perugini (Costanzo 63), Bezzi (Mannato 63), Bernabo, Pavanello, Orlando, Dal Maso (Mandelli 45).
US: Viljoen; Lakomskis, Emerick, Sika (Tuipulotu 45), Fee; Hercus, Timoteo (Williams 60); MacDonald, Wyatt, Waasdrop (Osentowski 60), Parker, Klerck, Surgener, Gouws, Schubert (capt).
