Here are Italy’s player ratings after Sunday’s 36-0 Six Nations defeat to Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Italy vs Ireland player ratings
15 Ange Capozzo: The former top meter maker in Italy’s backline once again showed how much of a threat he is with the ball in his hands. Unfortunately, he had little chance to run. 6
14 Lorenzo Pani: He maintained his spot in the starting lineup this week, but saw little ball as the impressive James Lowe won his individual matches by some margin. He was substituted in the 57th minute. Four
13 Juan Ignacio Brex: It was a nice touch early on, but it was the best for the usually impressive center. A bad day at the office involved a whopping six missed tackles. 3
12 Tommaso Menoncello: He was great against England last week but struggled to make an impact in Dublin. Lowe’s clumsiness saw yellow in the second half. Four
11 Monty Ioan: It was understandably quiet as Ireland dominated the entire match. Once he had the ball in his hands, the powerful winger was a threat, scoring seven runs of 40 metres. Five
10 Paolo Garbisi: His team’s best performer. He was a very elegant runner with the ball in his hands and made several inroads. It was a decent outing, especially behind a struggling group and in a losing situation. 7
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9 Stephen Barney: Although he was under serious pressure on the bases when attempting to box-kick, his serve was fluid and his work rate before being substituted before time was commendable. Five
8 Michele Ramaro: He replaced the injured Lorenzo Cannone as No. 8, but his shift was dominated by defense, as he recorded 19 tackles and conceded a goal. Lamaro showed little joy with the ball in his hands. Four
7 Manuel Zuliani: While his 20 tackles were eye-catching, there were some memorable moments where he was in possession of the ball. 6
6 Alessandro Izecole: Anonymous struggled in attack as the entire Italian last row struggled to assert themselves in opposing numbers. However, he was up front on defense with 17 tackles. Four
5 Federico Luzza: He showed glimpses of his quality, but not often enough as the Italian team was beaten up in Dublin. At the same time, he was taken off injured after receiving a shot to the ribs from Stuart McCloskey. Four
4 Niccolo Cannone: Tackles in blue had the most tackles with 21 and no misses. He also managed to pull off five carries when he got up on a difficult day at the office. Five
3 Pietro Ceccarelli: He struggled in the first half and was penalized at scrum time for getting past Ireland’s loosehead prop Andrew Porter. He was replaced at half-time by Giosue Girocchi. 3
2 Gianmarco Lucchesi: Despite no objections from the Irish, a diagonal throw early in the second period would have hurt him, but he made 17 tackles in a gutsy 56-minute substitution. Four
1 Danilo Fischetti: He wasn’t always busy holding the ball up the field and found himself in tough situations on set pieces with the impressive Finlay Bellum. 3
Replacement: Italy sent all but one of their bench onto the field, but if anything, fresh legs made things worse, with Ireland turning the screws and opening holes in their disjointed defence. 3
read more: Ireland player rating: Destruction of front row could help Bucs cut through Azzurri