Italy v Ireland Interview with Shane Horgan:Shane Horgan's face bore the scars of physical collisions, the seeping wound on the top of his head a memento of a tough afternoon at Stadio Flaminio. It is ever thus against Italy. Ireland's eight-try salvo and mastery on the scoreboard camouflaged what was a bruising afternoon; not just physically as it would transpire.
The balmy sunshine and the post-interval shimmying of the Irish backline took the visitors to the cusp of a Six Nations Championship title only to have those aspirations dashed later on Saturday afternoon in Paris. From an Irish perspective it was a pity Elvis (Vermeulen) didn't leave the building, or at least the Stade de France prior to his last- gap try. It snatched the championship from Irish hands.
That would come later on the day in question but in the immediate aftermath of Ireland's victory over Italy, Horgan couldn't mask his frustration. It wasn't about specifics for the right wing, who produced another towering performance, rather just the nagging feeling that what they accomplished might not suffice.
He wasn't consoled by the suggestion that they'd have taken a 27-point victory if offered it before the match. It is the manner of a win that most dictates the post-match frame of mind. "That was being bandied around the changing room, that we'd be happy with 51 points before the game but it's hard as a rugby player to accept that.
"You judge things on what happened. Sometimes you think you'd be lucky to come out of Rome with a one-score win. Other times, when things are right and flying, you get a bit greedy and think maybe we could have scored a couple more; maybe we could have stopped them scoring a couple (of tries)."
It's a pretty compelling argument and is no way damning of Ireland's performance, which was at times elevated by passages of wonderful rugby, particularly in the second half. Consolation for the players though will come when the disappointment is not quite so acute, the scars less livid.
Horgan smiled ruefully: "It was enjoyable. When you're out there and the ball was thrown around; guys are running lines and tries are being scored, it's fun. I thought today was a bit weird because you always had, well I did, a bigger picture in the back of your mind.
"I didn't have time to think, 'well this is great', or 'are we playing fancy rugby?' It never crossed my mind. It was 'let's get back and how can we score more points, more tries'. Things were going so well in the second half but in the end it was a little disappointing. I thought we didn't continue that momentum. I know you can't keep it up for a full 40 minutes and Italy are a good side.
"I think they were very smart when they started mauling the ball and we just couldn't get it back in the last 10 minutes and that was frustrating."
As Horgan said, the attritional nature of the early exchanges came from a dog-eared script and for Ireland the key was patience and honesty. "I thought we were comfortable and that we would get scores but sometimes it takes a while to break down teams. Italy have got a big pack and you have to wear them down physically which we eventually did."
The backs earned the plaudits but, according to Horgan, it was the team ethic and the industry of the forwards that allowed the former to play with a compelling brio and panache. "A foundation has to come from the forwards. No matter how much acclaim the back line gets; that type of ball just doesn't happen, no matter who's in the backline, unless the forwards provide the right kind of possession.
"That's (cutting-edge rugby) not something that's new to this team or exclusive to an Italian game. We certainly are capable of scoring. From the provinces through to some of the games we have played with Ireland in the last 18 months, we have shown that we are capable of throwing the ball around and we are not afraid of doing it from quite a distance out.
"We are getting there but there is that disappointment with the French result. We know what we can achieve and set our own standards and we must live up to them. Silverware is very important. It is to me. Moving forward, I don't think we can get too caught up in that. It's just a pity that we left it up to them (Scotland and France) to decide our fate. We have to remain in control of our destiny in future."
It's that honesty and determination that not only marks Horgan's game but also highlights the single-minded focus of both himself and his team-mates. They're qualities that augur well for the future and may finally receive their reward on a world stage.
