Six Nations They came in their thousands, they saw in their thousands, and, no doubt, spent in their thousands too. It helps when the team conquers, though on the biennial junket to the Eternal City it's perhaps not quite the be-all and end-all of the weekend.
Vene, vidi, visa, you might say.
On the morning of Ireland's 37-13 win in Rome, all along the designer heaven of Vid del Corso and the nearby Spanish Steps, or at other landmarks, it was impossible not to bump into Irish supporters, even if not too many were bedecked in green. On a dazzlingly sunny day, only the tardiness of the 3.30 p.m. kick-off ensured almost half the beautifully-manicured Serie C stadium was covered in the shade of the main stand.
The Stadio Flaminio was almost full. Judging by the reaction to the Denis Dallan try, it seemed as if the home support outnumbered the visiting contingent, though estimates as to how the 20,000 crowd broke down are difficult to gauge, as the greater amount of green is not an accurate barometer.
Italian sports fans in general, much less rugby supporters, wouldn't be seen morte in replica gear. For one thing, blue mightn't match their shoes, or their scarves, and black is most definitely in at the moment in Rome. With the huge Irish contingent swelled by a sizeable female contingent, this was definitely the best-dressed Irish sporting occasion of the calendar year.
Time was, circa the mid to late 1990s, when the Italians were completing three wins in a row over Ireland's finest, when Ireland would have taken a 37-13 win hereabout and emerged feeling as relieved as Roman slaves in the coliseum. But they've set higher thresholds for themselves these days, and negotiating tricky, back-to-back wins is merely seen as a prelude to the first of the big ones at Lansdowne Road, against France in a fortnight's time.
On their Edinburgh-Roman odyssey, Ireland have also impressed the locals along the way, reinforcing the pre-championship viewpoint they were real contenders for the title. This win provided a sharp dose of realism for the Italians, who took their defeat on the chin with the stark realisation that only the margin of Ireland's win was ever up for discussion.
"I think Ireland have made a lot of progress in the last couple of years," admitted scrumhalf Alessandro Troncon, a rather more humble figure than he was on the eve of the game, though admittedly no one could have tried harder to stem the green tide around him.
"They are very good in the setpieces, very well organised and they are very good technically. After their wins over Australia, Argentina, Scotland and now us, they have the dynamic to go on and win the Grand Slam. We couldn't win today but the score could have been better for us."
A couple of French journalists cornered assistant Ireland coach Declan Kidney, in search of some pre-match hype for what one of them now calls Le Crunch up front.
"Well, I suppose I still remember playing England and France last year," said Kidney, endeavouring to play down expectation levels.
But that was away from home?
"It doesn't matter. The pitch is still the same shape."
Moving on then, there are two thorny selectorial posers for Eddie O'Sullivan and co, full back and wing, while, more unnervingly, things are looking a little thin in the front-row department. There are options and cover aplenty in the back five of the pack and most other areas of the team, but sod's law decreed that the injuries would mount up in the front row.
The moment you saw Reggie Corrigan departing before half-time gingerly holding his right wrist to his stomach you suspected the worst and, sure enough, X-rays have confirmed a fracture to his radial bone (forearm) which will sideline him for the remainder of the championship.
"I'm really disappointed. It was one of those freak accidents. I went to tackle Bergamasco and his head hit my arm. I knew it straight away," said Corrigan, who will have surgery today and a plate inserted in his arm.
Yet despite the projected recovery time of six to eight weeks, he hasn't given up hope of leading out Leinster in their European Cup quarter-final at home to Biarritz in seven weeks' time.
Given Paul Wallace's long-term injury and Emmet Byrne's road to recovery, Marcus Horan will be elevated to the starting line-up with, most probably, Justin Fitzpatrick recalled from the A team. After that, there isn't a capped prop in sight, nor even a regular starter with the leading three provinces or in England.
The options at full back and outhalf are intensifying, however. Geordan Murphy's predictably polished performance oozed class, but most of all would have impressed O'Sullivan with his composure under the high ball and his command of the basics. Even under pressure, everything Murphy did was done with time and usually with interest.
"Actually he was very nervous beforehand," revealed Kidney. "Because he hadn't started a Six Nations game at full back he wanted this to go well for him. We concentrated on him doing the basic things and that's probably what he did today. Everybody knows what Geordan is good at but he was probably reserved in what he did today. Now that he's got that under his belt hopefully a lot of the nerves will go and he'll be even better for it."
Were the championship just a dry run for the World Cup, O'Sullivan would assuredly want to have another look at Murphy in a fortnight's time. He may well have no option, though, as the Six Nations is an entity in its own right and Ireland are now one of only two unbeaten teams left in the competition, if Girvan Dempsey is fit again he'll probably return.
As for outhalf, David Humphreys overcame an edgy start with impressive composure and tactical leadership. He's scored 43 points in two games, and unless Ronan O'Gara makes a comeback for Cork Constitution next week at UL Bohemians he'll have had an enforced break of five weeks come the French match. It's tough on O'Gara, but the argument for retaining Humprheys is looking stronger.
Just when you think this little debate is concluded, another twist occurs, and in this mammoth and intense international year there'll be more to come yet.
