Compiled by JOHN O'SULLIVAN

15 ROB KEARNEY

Wasn’t as dominant in the air as he usually is but that won’t detract from his outstanding contribution with the ball in hand. The ability to beat the first and/or several opponents and his leg drive in contact were the keys to Ireland’s counter-attack.

7/10

14 TOMMY BOWE

Scored two tries and might have had a hat-trick had he managed to hang onto Stephen Ferris’ gorgeous one-handed offload. Carried powerfully and with greater orthodoxy when he moved in from the wing to centre. He is a central component in Ireland’s attack.

7/10

13 KEITH EARLS

Did very well to force his way over for the opening try and looked pretty sharp after a five-week layoff. One fine break in the second half but didn’t spot Bowe on his outside. Defended with authority and threw in one millimetre-perfect line kick.

6/10

12 GORDON D’ARCY

A complete performance, a reminder of his qualities, including one beautifully crafted break, forged by a shimmy and then accelerating clear. Snuffed out one attack with a thumping tackle on the Irish 22. Wrongly penalised for sealing off.

8//10

11 ANDREW TRIMBLE

Made a number of handling mistakes early on in the match and initially found that Irish attacking gambits didn’t reach his wing too often. He made a couple of fine catches, was muscular in defence and sold a nice dummy for his well-taken try.

6/10

10 JONATHAN SEXTON

Place-kicking was superb because the bald statistics don’t illustrate the difficult nature of several opportunities. He was penalised once for not releasing in the tackle and once or twice in general play he might have chosen or executed better but these were minor cavils.

7/10

9 CONOR MURRAY

Took an age to make decisions at the base of the ruck and as a result Italy were able to realign whether for his box kicks or short popped ball to one-out runners. He made some poor choices in terms of direction but was robust in defence and covered well.

5/10

1 CIAN HEALY

Carried the ball repeatedly and to great effect early on and, after Greg Feek recalibrated the scrum at half-time, was part of an Irish eight that forced a couple of penalties there. A horrible moment when he put his head in the wrong place to make a tackle: may have been slightly concussed.

6/10

2 RORY BEST

Ireland lost two lineouts, one of which led to Italian captain Sergio Parisse’s try. It might have been a timing issue but the hooker looked to have overthrown. He was very effective in every other aspect, making his usually quota of assists in attack and defence.

6/10

3 MIKE ROSS

An excellent all-round display. He nearly scored a try when carrying close to the Italian line but committed two defenders to stop him and presented quick ball. He was responsible for one turnover at a maul and carried ball regularly and to good effect.

7/10

4 DONNCHA O’CALLAGHAN

The honesty of O’Callaghan’s grafting is sometimes overlooked. He had more of a high-profile outing by virtue of the fact he got his hands on the ball a couple of times as well as doing the more mundane chores at rucks.

6/10

5 PAUL O’CONNELL

Provided superb direction. Decision to go to the corner with a couple of penalties proved fruitful. His work-rate was immense and he carried ball powerfully. Conceding two penalties will annoy him.

7/10

6 STEPHEN FERRIS

Made a couple of trademark interventions in defence to stop the Italian momentum in an instant. Unselfishly gave Bowe a try on a plate and his offload to the latter after breaking a tackle should have led to another.

8/10

7 SEÁN O’BRIEN

A relatively quiet outing in the loose by his high standards. He did carry effectively early on and was responsible for one great turnover on Parisse. Perhaps did a little bit more work in clearing out at rucks than is normal: penalised twice.

6/10

8 JAMIE HEASLIP

Much like O’Brien, wasn’t to be found rampaging in the loose but rather discharging some of the more mundane duties. When involved with ball-in-hand, makes intelligent decisions, knowing when to straighten, offload or take contact.

6/10