Ireland’s victory in Rome will help to assuage the disappointment of an imprecise performance that was long on perspiration but short on inspiration. The red pen would probably read ‘could do better.’
Ireland aspire to being better than they demonstrated and for all Italy's grit in defence, the homeside wasn't really stretched unduly, apart from a couple of instances down the touchline, until the sheer toll of making over 200 tackles (205 to be precise)finally kicked in.
Joe Schmidt will reflect on the patchy display, satisfied with aspects of the gameplan, while at the same time aware of the huge scope for improvement that will be required against France.
ATTACK: Ireland were very narrow for most of the opening 40 minutes looking to put runners through cluttered corridors with an inside pass. Italy defended this channel robustly facilitated by some loose, telegraphed offloads. Conor Murray box-kicked well, while Ian Keatley's game management picked up admirably, after a nervous start.
Robbie Henshaw's power allowed him to get over the gainline (14 carries, 11 tackles), even if he did snatch at a couple of chances, Rob Kearney also made decent yardage (65, the team's top carrier), while Jared Payne's intelligence on the ball and the positions he takes up stood out. Simon Zebo worked hard and was more effective when the game broke up.
Overall, Ireland kicked away too much possession, relied on one out runners and then had to send the cavalry in to rescue possession. There was a lot of energy expended for meagre rewards.
The two tries came from, firstly, a well-worked lineout move, allied to Murray’s strength, and secondly, from a strong run from Tommy O’Donnell that was aided by some insipid Italian tackling.
When Ireland did manage to get outside the Italians on a couple of occasions they could have snaffled a couple of tries. Creatively, though, it was a substandard return.
DEFENCE: Les Kiss will be delighted the team didn't concede that late try but there was times when Ireland's kick/chase might have pressed a little more quickly. In general, Ireland contested the high kicks well. The line speed might have been a little more aggressive at times because, physically, the Italians dominated most of the initial contact points.
Still, Ireland scrambled well and the midfield tackling was authoritative. When Tommaso Allan came on at outhalf he injected both pace and purpose and certainly asked more questions than the pedestrian Kelly Haimona, who spent most of the afternoon crashing it up in the centre. Italy's progress was based on lateral movement and some 'optimistic' punting. There wasn't much subtlety or penetration and their handling was shoddy.
SET PIECE: Jack McGrath is probably owed an apology by referee Pascal Gauzere, who let Martin Castrogiovanni illegally bind short on the arm and hinge and then had the temerity to penalise the Irish man. Overall the scrum was solid and the lineout, two systems failures aside, was good. Paul O'Connell excelled on the Italian throw, Devin Toner nicked one too, while Ireland's first try came from a cleverly worked move.
BACKROW: Losing Seán O'Brien before the game was unfortunate and his power on the ball was certainly missed. Jordi Murphy (17 carries, nine tackles) and Tommy O'Donnell (12 tackles, 43 metres carrying) carried possession but were well corralled and regularly slid to ground on contact; they didn't make many metres until the final quarter when the Italians began to slip off tackles.
Peter O’Mahony (15 carries) sporadically managed to earn a few hard yards. In fairness, Murphy and O’Donnell worked hard throughout, backed up by the statistics, and the latter was rewarded with a try. Depth, pace on to the ball and footwork in contact are the ‘work-ons’ from Rome and not just from the backrow.
GAME MANAGEMENT: Keatley demonstrated character to recover from a nervy start in which he tried to force things a little too much before settling into a rhythm. He kicked his goals, the line kicking improved massively, as did his decision making. If he'd been more established in the role, he probably would have shooed away some of the forwards who were loitering in that channel. Murray was a brilliant foil for his halfback partner in a high quality performance and looked to take the pressure away from Keatley, where possible. Ireland did enough to win without coming near their best.
