Ireland v Italy/ Interview with Jerry Flannery: There was a touch of the Tom and Jerry Show about Saturday's match at Lansdowne Road but the Italian players and management would have derived precious little humour from what they might have perceived as cartoonish officiating that handed Ireland two tries.

Referee Dave Pearson, in his first Six Nations Championship match, decided that both Irish tries, scored by Tommy Bowe and Jerry Flannery, were OK when the video evidence showed otherwise, at least in Bowe's case. There is no definitive camera angle for Flannery's score.

The Shannon hooker, making his Six Nations bow, recovered from an iffy opening to the contest - Ireland lost their first two lineouts - to show commendable mental resilience. The home side would cough up another couple by the interval but it didn't daunt the Munster man; he didn't hide or shirk his duties and was industrious in broken play.

The Irish lineout was also flawless after the interval. The main topic on the post-match agenda, though, was that try.

"I could see Paulie (Paul O'Connell) stole it with a great lift from John Hayes. It took a couple of seconds to get it down. Then Rog (Ronan O'Gara) tried to steal it but gave it back to me," said Flannery.

The two Irish players wheeled away laughing after the referee's decision, so what was said?

"He (O'Gara) goes, 'You can have it'. I said, 'Well, I'm going to take it because I scored it'," Flannery smiled.

The hooker is in no doubt it was a try, despite television footage appearing to show the ball slipping from his grasp. "It was definitely a try, no doubt, 100 per cent. I got the ball and I was held up for a second and then put it down. Ronan (O'Gara) had come and driven over me as we were driving over the line. I put the ball down. The referee gave the try and then he (O'Gara) got in on the act.

"It was more a case of just wanting to get some points on the board for the team. It wasn't really a try for me, it was a score that helped the team and that was what I was more concerned with at the time. It was real tough. They were a bruiser pack and you really have to get stuck into them."

Flannery wasn't about to shy away from questions about Ireland's disjointed lineout in the first half. "Two (that we lost) were down to me, the other two were right on the money but just didn't come off for other reasons. The first ball they pinched was just good defence. We probably just need to be a bit cuter.

"They waited until the call was made and just intercepted the throw. Paul (O'Connell) is very good at analysing the opposition during a game; it's a good skill he has and he just started picking out calls and making the throws a little bit easier.

"I would have liked to get my hands on the ball a little bit more. I suppose some games you just end up rucking a little bit more. I worked hard and was happy enough with my contribution. It's a lot more physical than most games that I play with Munster. It was manageable. I was happy. I like to think that's one of my strengths, getting the ball in hand and contributing around the field. I'd like to bring that more into the Irish set-up."

Flannery did manage one surging run when alighting on a loose ball.

He ventured: "It came off an incomplete pass in midfield. I came on to it and there was a bit of a gap. Once I got onto it, Wally (David Wallace) was trailing me like a good seven and I just popped it back into him and he made good yards out of it."

He smiled when the suggestion was made that he would learn from this game and be better for it in Paris, noting he wasn't about to take anything for granted as far as selection was concerned.

"I would love to play but that's not for me to decide. I know what I have to do and where I have to improve. At this level you can't afford to let standards slip, no matter what the reason."

That assertion carried a certain resonance given the overall display.