Canadian rugby coach Kieran Crowley speaks at a media availablity on Wednesday Aug. 3, 2011, at BMO Field in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Neil Davidson

TORONTO - Kris Burton kicked 20 points as Italy rallied to defeat a defiant Canada 25-16 in a rugby test match Saturday night.

Canada looked solid for much of the evening against an underwhelming Italian team that had an advantage in the scrum but failed to make it pay until the final quarter of the game. The Canadians played a more open game but ultimately paid the price for a high penalty count and an accurate kicker.

Canada was still administering big hits on defence and running on offence as the final whistle blew but could not break the Italian defence.

Italy now has won four straight against Canada and leads the overall series 5-2.

Conor Trainor scored a try for Canada and James Pritchard kicked three penalties and a conversion before an enthusiastic crowd of 12,220 at BMO Field.

Pritchard's points haul moved him into second place in Canada's all-time scoring behind Gareth Rees.

Burton, a Brisbane-born fly half who was named man of the match, booted six penalties and a conversion for a young Italian side that often looked starved for ideas on attack. Hooker Tommaso D'Apice added a try.

Italy is ranked 12th in the world, compared to No. 13 for Canada. But the numbers are deceiving in that Italy, as a member of the Six Nations, regularly plays against Tier 1 opposition while Canada doesn't.

The Italians were coming off a 37-22 loss away to No. 7 Argentina while Canada, in its first outing since last fall's World Cup in New Zealand, defeated the 17th-ranked U.S. Eagles 28-25 last weekend in Kingston.

Italy's young starting 15 had a combined 275 test caps between then, with 150 of those divided between prop Martin Castrogiovanni and backrow forward Alessandro Zanni. Coach Jacques Brunel started two uncapped players in the backs.

Castrogiovanni, the charismatic Leicester Tigers veteran, captained his country for the first time in his 87th test appearance. He took over as skipper due to injuries to star No. 8 Sergio Parisse and veteran lock Marco Bortolami.

The Italian side included Toronto-born backrow forward Robert Barbieri, who perhaps fittingly caught the opening kickoff from Pritchard.

Canada, missing star lock Jamie Cudmore and fly half Ander Monro among others, also had 275 caps in its starting 15. Lanky flanker Tyler Ardron made his first start for Canada after coming off the bench last week against the Americans.

The Canadians, as is their tradition, left the field after the warmups in a phalanx with players holding onto the jersey of the man in front or beside them.

Canada started well, stealing an Italian lineout early and then going ahead in the fourth minute on a Pritchard penalty. Italy tied it up on the 12th on a Burton penalty kick after a series of slow attacks in the Canadian end.

Both teams had lineout worries early, with Italy losing its first two and Canada its first attempt.

Canadian prop Hubert Buydens limped off in the 17th minute, leaving substitute Tom Dolezel to face Castrogiovanni in the scrum.

Italy was knocking on the door in the 23rd minute after a series of pick and drives, but English referee Dave Pearson penalized them, seemingly for not releasing the ball when tackled as an Italian tried to use second effort to cross the goal-line.

A penalty a minute later gave the visitors a 6-3 lead, however. Pritchard tied in the 29th with a penalty kick from just inside the Italian half, defying the swirling winds.

Canada went ahead on an opportunistic try when Italian scum half Tito Tebaldi bobbled a high kick. He went down and tried to pass the ball off the ground to a teammate, only to give it to an onrushing Trainor who raced in for the try. Pritchard added the conversion from in front of the posts for a 13-6 lead after 33 minutes.

The Italian scrum began to dominate as the first half wore on but Italy could not translate that into points, other than a late penalty kick by Burton that made the score 13-9 after 40 minutes.

Another Burton penalty cut the Canadian lead to 13-12 in the 44th minute. And tempers flared as Jason Marshall, a former SFU quarterback turned prop, flung Tebaldi to the ground at the sidelines.

Pearso spoke to both captains as the argy-bargy continued after the whistle.

Italy took the lead in the 51st on a rolling maul off a lineout following a booming penalty kick to the sidelines. D'Apice was the man with the ball as the Italians drove over the goal-line like a freight train. A Burton conversion gave Italy a 19-13 lead.

Pritchard pegged that back to 19-16 with another successful penalty. But Italy's scrum superiority led to penalties with Burton booting another to increase the lead to 22-16. It wasn't until his sixth try at goal that he finally missed.

He was back to perfect for try No. 7, from just a step inside the Canadian half.

Pritchard missed his first kick with less than five minutes remaining.

The Italians defeated Canada handily the last two times they met: 41-6 in 2006 and 51-6 in 2004. Canada's last victory was a 22-17 decision in Rovigo in 2000.

Prior to Friday, Italy had outscored Canada 178-76 with a 17-3 edge in tries.

The result left Kieran Crowley's record as Canadian coach at 14-12-1.

NOTES: Teenage winger Taylor Paris has signed a one-year contract with the Glasgow Warriors. The 19-year-old from Barrie, Ont., has missed the national team's summer test series with a foot injury but will captain Canada at the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy later this month in Salt Lake City. Fellow Canadians DTH van der Merwe, Kevin Tkachuk and Chauncey O'Toole played in Glasgow.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2012