Ireland celebrated Brian O’Driscoll’s Dublin send-off in style as they cruised to a comprehensive victory over a game but outmatched Azzurri side. The great man himself was in vintage form as he played an instrumental part in three tries before going off to a rousing ovation just past the hour mark. Only the troubled French now stand between an Irish championship victory and a fairytale finish for the Leinster legend.
Italy defending manfully in the first half, even little Luciano Orquera getting in on the act with a crunching tackle on Gordon D’Arcy. The absence of Alessandro Zanni and Sergio Parisse was noticeable, and it was a cruel blow when Martin Castrogiovanni had to go off so early. Marco Bortolami could not be faulted for his efforts but even in his best days, which were some years ago now, he could not have stemmed the green wave.
After hearing during the weeks preceding that Jonny Sexton would struggle to be fit for the tournament, let alone the match, the out-half redeemed his poor outing against England with an excellent performance, scoring the opening try and orchestrating the attack superbly. The only worrying thing was Joe Schmidt’s reluctance to take him off, even after he appeared to tweak an ankle and the game already well won.
Ireland will take much from the game, not least the confidence of knowing that they now have a virtually insurmountable points differential and a win by even a single point in Paris should be enough to lift the trophy. There was a welcome return from Eoin Reddan, who played well after Conor Murray went off early suffering from illness, and an excellent 50-odd minutes from stand-in flanker Iain Henderson, who had made Schmidt’s selection a little more difficult should Peter O’Mahony recover from his hamstring problem in time to face France.
The lineout and driving maul were central to the victory, with Rory Best’s throwing spot on and Devin Toner’s bulk ever present. Both Cian Healy and his understudy Jack McGrath impressed, so too old Mike Ross and young Martin Moore. Even Sean Cronin got in on the act with a cracking try against an admittedly tiring defense in the final quarter. Paris remains a daunting challenge, but all of a sudden their chances have taken a giant leap in the right direction.
IRELAND 46 vs 7 ITALY
Saturday, March 8, 14:30 GMT, Dublin
SCORING
06 mins – J. Sexton try 5-0
07 mins – J. Sexton con 7-0
24 mins – L. Sarto try 7-5
25 mins – L. Orquera con 7-7
31 mins – J. Sexton pen 10-7
38 mins – A. Trimble try 15-7
39 mins – J. Sexton con 17-7
52 mins – C. Healy try 22-7
59 mins – J. Sexton try 27-7
68 mins – S. Cronin try 32-7
69 mins – P. Jackson con 34-7
77 mins – F. McFadden try 39-7
78 mins – P Jackson con 41-7
80 mins – J. McGrath try 46-7
IRELAND
R. Kearney; A. Trimble, B. O’Driscoll (F. McFadden 62), G. D’Arcy, D. Kearney; J. Sexton (P. Jackson 64), C. Murray (E. Reddan 16); C. Healy (J. McGrath 54), R. Best (S. Cronin 54), M. Ross (M. Moore 57); D. Toner, P. O’Connell (capt.); I. Henderson (R. Ruddock 54), C. Henry (J. Murphy 73), J. Heaslip.
ITALY
L. McLean; A. Esposito, M. Campagnaro, G. Garcia (A. Masi 64), L. Sarto; L. Orquera (T. Allan 64), T. Tebaldi (E. Gori 70); A. de Marchi (M. Rizzo 57), L. Ghiraldini (D. Giazzon 70), M. Castrogiovanni (L. Cittadini 7 {A. de Marchi 70}); Q. Geldenhuys, M. Bortolami (capt.) (A. Pavanello 64); J. Furno, P. Derbyshire (M. Vosawai 34-39, 57), R. Barbieri.
Referee: N. Owens (WRU)
Assistants: P. Gauzere (FFR) & G. Garner (RFU)
TMO: G. Warren (RFU)
