It was almost a horrible case of deja vu for Paolo Garbisi and his kicking tee in the 2024 Six Nations.

A fortnight after he lined up a kick to beat France and hit the post after the ball fell off his tee with the shot clock rapidly running down, he suffered another mishap in Rome as the Azzurri took on Gregor Townsend’s Scotland.

Read more: How to watch the Six Nations wherever you are

The stakes were not the same as it was the very first kick at goal in Saturday’s opening game at the Stadio Olimpico as opposed to the chance to hand Italy a first-ever win in France against Les Bleus with the clock in the red.

With just over a minute on the clock, Garbisi put the ball on the tee after Italy were awarded an early penalty. He went through the usual motions before the ball fell off with 20 seconds left on the shot clock.

Garbisi rushed to pick it back up and put it back on and this time slotted his penalty attempt through the uprights. He had a wry smile on his face initially but that soon broke out into a beaming grin after he overcame the setback to open Italy’s account on a sunny afternoon in the capital.

Rugby fans rushed to social media to demand that Garbisi get a new kicking tee in light of the second consecutive incident.

On X, formerly Twitter, one user wrote: “Think Garbisi needs a new kicking tee.”

Another added: “Somebody get garbisi a new tee.”

A third said: “Garbisi has a good sense of humour at least.”

The mood from most onlookers was summed up well in one post on the social media site: “Honestly I think all of us wanted Garbisi to kick that one.”

Will Owen, one half of popular YouTube channel Squidge Rugby, even suggested having a whip round for some new equipment. He said: “Crowdfunder to get Garbisi a new kicking tee”.