Ireland proved too strong for Italy with a resounding 36-0 victory at the Aviva Stadium, earning them two Six Nations bonus points and putting their hopes of defending their Grand Slam title firmly on track. Ta.
Andy Farrell made six changes from the squad that thrashed France 38-17 a week ago, and while it wasn’t perfect, Ireland managed to flex their squad on Sunday (Monday AEDT). However, Italy could not cope with the host nation’s large ball carriers. And a fast-paced attack.
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Dan Sheehan scored two tries and Jack Crowley, Jack Conan, James Rowe and Calvin Nash each scored one try as Ireland moved to the top of the table, two points ahead of England in the table and street.
After Ireland held a Six Nations opponent scoreless for the first time since 1987, captain Caelan Doris said: “We recognize the threat that Italy’s attack poses, so it was great to be able to hold them to zero.” It’s very gratifying.”
“When there are a lot of changes and players are given opportunities, there can be a temptation to try to impress individually, but we have stuck to our system and played well with each other. We talked about making it look good and I think we did that for the most part.”
Ireland’s intentions were clear from the start, looking to move the ball as quickly as possible, creating gaps with the speed of the phases and 5/8 Crowley crossing over in the 8th minute to score his first international try.
Just like in their defeat to England last week, Ireland had to be patient as Italy found their own space.
It was once again a superb offload from Crowley as hooker Sheehan scored his fourth and then fifth try in the last three Six Nations matches.
No. 8 Conan’s try effectively ended the game at half-time at 19-0.
He was one of six players given a chance to impress from the start, with Leinster teammate Ryan Baird in the back row while Craig Casey had a busy game at half-back. As he played, he did just that.
While Sheehan earned a bonus point in the 50th minute, Ireland were never able to let up, having to settle for tries from James Rowe and Calvin Nash despite Tommaso Menoncello being sin-binned. Instead, the benches were empty and the game went into a lull.
Full-back Hugo Keenan, one of the few positions where Ireland lacked significant depth, left the field in the second half with a banged knee and Farrell said he needed to be examined. If there is, medical staff will examine him in the morning, he said.
Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada admitted there was little his team could do but did not want to put any more pressure on Ireland and avoid their first goalless game since a 33-0 loss to England two years ago. I was dissatisfied with that.
“We won’t lie to ourselves and we know we have limitations, but the hardest thing is to feel like the players are doing what they’re supposed to do that week and they can do that on the pitch. When you can’t prove anything more than that,” Quesada said.