Jamie Osborne — 7: Ran a nice support line for his try. Had a poor, unforced drop a few minutes later but made a key intervention on 48 minutes as he denied opposite number Lorenzo Pani a score in the left-hand corner. Solid as a rock defensively: didn’t miss a tackle, covered the backfield well, and exited effectively with his big left boot when required.
Robert Baloucoune — 8: Beautiful early half-break should have yielded more, but there was nobody on his inside shoulder as he offered the offload. Showed a couple more flashes of raw speed and attacking brilliance in the first half, and then his claim of Sam Prendergast’s second-half restart led to Jack Conan’s try. Produced an exceptional finish for his own try and was impressive defensively, too: one tackle on Manuel Zuliani prevented a possible Italian breakaway score on 54 minutes. One slight misjudgement of a bouncing ball kept Italy alive at the end. A deserved man of the match.
Garry Ringrose — 6: An improvement on last week, certainly. Still inconsistent with his reads as Ireland’s shooter in defence but made some key defensive interventions at the same time. Showed more glimpses of his attacking class too, particularly during Ireland’s third-quarter purple patch.
Stuart McCloskey — 7: Superb assist for Ireland’s opening score by Osborne, and an NFL-style tee-up for Baloucoune on a free hit. Massive maul intervention at the end of the first half and some big, important defensive hits in the second. Ireland’s best player currently.
James Lowe — 7: His first involvement following last week’s non-involvement was an excellent aerial take, and he continued to play like a man possessed with ball in hand from the get-go. More effervescent than in recent months, Lowe resembled his old self and his match-winning intercept should have led to a bonus-point opportunity.
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Sam Prendergast — 5: The timing and selection of his passes was broadly fantastic, but his lack of physicality is an unavoidable issue. Had two poor misses from the tee and was also fortunate that a miscue from hand on 24 minutes didn’t cost Ireland a try.
Craig Casey — 5: His indifferent first half ended with a yellow-card offence that yielded Italy’s first try — it was poor tackle technique by Casey but Lorenzo Cannone did also carry head-first into the scrum-half. Possibly saved a try with an excellent diving tackle following Prendergast’s errant kick on 24 minutes, but will be frustrated to have missed his opportunity to edge closer to Jamison Gibson-Park.
Forwards:
Jeremy Loughman — 4: The entire starting front row struggled terribly. Loughman’s timid ball-carrying also cost two turnovers in the loose.
Dan Sheehan — 5: Got his wings in the scrum and was again fairly ineffective all round, aside from the lineout where he was near spotless once more.
Thomas Clarkson — 4: Replaced by Tadhg Furlong at half-time after a torrid opening 40 minutes against the excellent Danilo Fischetti.
Joe McCarthy — 6: Slightly more effective in the carry than he was in Paris and significantly more effective in protecting Irish ball at the breakdown.
James Ryan — 7: Brought plenty of ‘intent’, including a big early carry beyond the Italian 5’ and another in the lead-up to Osborne’s opener. Second among the forwards with 11 carries in all. Rating aside, probably actually needs to chill out a small bit with the ‘niggle’ after the whistle is blown, which is good fun for spectators but can colour an official’s impression of a player.
Cormac Izuchukwu — 7: Lineout steal on 47 minutes thwarted Italian momentum (the Ulster forward led Ireland’s lineout defence all week in training). Won another turnover and made solid ground with his seven carries.
Caelan Doris (captain) — 6: Came up with a big steal on 51 minutes and his work rate was again commendable with 14 tackles. Just lacking something in his carry at the moment, despite carrying hard on nine occasions.
Jack Conan — 7: Good finish for his try after initially breaking a tackle down the right in its origin. Led Ireland with 17 tackles and led the forwards with 12 carries (second only to Jamie Osborne across the team). Caught with Ringrose for the Tommaso Menoncello line-break which led to Louis Lynagh’s disallowed try.
Replacements:
Rónan Kelleher (Sheehan 52′) — 6: While he struggled in the scrum like virtually every Irish front row, he was more effective in the carry than Sheehan and also made nine tackles in just under half an hour.
Tom O’Toole (Loughman 66’) — 6: Made nine tackles in 14 minutes and survived his two scrums at loosehead.
Tadhg Furlong (Clarkson HT) — 4: Was picked up where Thomas Clarkson was left off, unfortunately.
Edwin Edogbo (Ryan 70’) — 6: Made nine tackles in 10 minutes as Italy knocked on the door. A pity we didn’t see him with ball in hand.
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Tadhg Beirne (McCarthy 52’) — 6: Was, by his own standards, relatively quiet, but contributed some nice link play and defended belligerently.
Nick Timoney (Izuchukwu 59’) — 6: Not quite as explosive an introduction as last week but made himself known on both sides of the ball.
Jamison Gibson-Park (Casey 52′) — 7: Kicked away a penalty advantage when Ireland had a chance to kill the game on 62 minutes but otherwise was an upgrade on Casey, adding more fizz and assuredness to Ireland’s game. Exquisite box kick pinned Italy back at a crucial juncture in the final quarter.
Jack Crowley (Prendergast 56’) — 6: Made an instant impact with several key involvements in Baloucoune’s try and was certainly an improvement on Prendergast on the day, including from the tee. Kick dead at the end was inexcusable and costs him a 7.
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Our player ratings as Ireland survive stern Italian test
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Jamie Osborne — 7: Ran a nice support line for his try. Had a poor, unforced drop a few minutes later but made a key intervention on 48 minutes as he denied opposite number Lorenzo Pani a score in the left-hand corner. Solid as a rock defensively: didn’t miss a tackle, covered the backfield well, and exited effectively with his big left boot when required.
Robert Baloucoune — 8: Beautiful early half-break should have yielded more, but there was nobody on his inside shoulder as he offered the offload. Showed a couple more flashes of raw speed and attacking brilliance in the first half, and then his claim of Sam Prendergast’s second-half restart led to Jack Conan’s try. Produced an exceptional finish for his own try and was impressive defensively, too: one tackle on Manuel Zuliani prevented a possible Italian breakaway score on 54 minutes. One slight misjudgement of a bouncing ball kept Italy alive at the end. A deserved man of the match.
Garry Ringrose — 6: An improvement on last week, certainly. Still inconsistent with his reads as Ireland’s shooter in defence but made some key defensive interventions at the same time. Showed more glimpses of his attacking class too, particularly during Ireland’s third-quarter purple patch.
Stuart McCloskey — 7: Superb assist for Ireland’s opening score by Osborne, and an NFL-style tee-up for Baloucoune on a free hit. Massive maul intervention at the end of the first half and some big, important defensive hits in the second. Ireland’s best player currently.
James Lowe — 7: His first involvement following last week’s non-involvement was an excellent aerial take, and he continued to play like a man possessed with ball in hand from the get-go. More effervescent than in recent months, Lowe resembled his old self and his match-winning intercept should have led to a bonus-point opportunity.
Sam Prendergast — 5: The timing and selection of his passes was broadly fantastic, but his lack of physicality is an unavoidable issue. Had two poor misses from the tee and was also fortunate that a miscue from hand on 24 minutes didn’t cost Ireland a try.
Craig Casey — 5: His indifferent first half ended with a yellow-card offence that yielded Italy’s first try — it was poor tackle technique by Casey but Lorenzo Cannone did also carry head-first into the scrum-half. Possibly saved a try with an excellent diving tackle following Prendergast’s errant kick on 24 minutes, but will be frustrated to have missed his opportunity to edge closer to Jamison Gibson-Park.
Forwards:
Jeremy Loughman — 4: The entire starting front row struggled terribly. Loughman’s timid ball-carrying also cost two turnovers in the loose.
Dan Sheehan — 5: Got his wings in the scrum and was again fairly ineffective all round, aside from the lineout where he was near spotless once more.
Thomas Clarkson — 4: Replaced by Tadhg Furlong at half-time after a torrid opening 40 minutes against the excellent Danilo Fischetti.
Joe McCarthy — 6: Slightly more effective in the carry than he was in Paris and significantly more effective in protecting Irish ball at the breakdown.
James Ryan — 7: Brought plenty of ‘intent’, including a big early carry beyond the Italian 5’ and another in the lead-up to Osborne’s opener. Second among the forwards with 11 carries in all. Rating aside, probably actually needs to chill out a small bit with the ‘niggle’ after the whistle is blown, which is good fun for spectators but can colour an official’s impression of a player.
Cormac Izuchukwu — 7: Lineout steal on 47 minutes thwarted Italian momentum (the Ulster forward led Ireland’s lineout defence all week in training). Won another turnover and made solid ground with his seven carries.
Caelan Doris (captain) — 6: Came up with a big steal on 51 minutes and his work rate was again commendable with 14 tackles. Just lacking something in his carry at the moment, despite carrying hard on nine occasions.
Jack Conan — 7: Good finish for his try after initially breaking a tackle down the right in its origin. Led Ireland with 17 tackles and led the forwards with 12 carries (second only to Jamie Osborne across the team). Caught with Ringrose for the Tommaso Menoncello line-break which led to Louis Lynagh’s disallowed try.
Replacements:
Rónan Kelleher (Sheehan 52′) — 6: While he struggled in the scrum like virtually every Irish front row, he was more effective in the carry than Sheehan and also made nine tackles in just under half an hour.
Tom O’Toole (Loughman 66’) — 6: Made nine tackles in 14 minutes and survived his two scrums at loosehead.
Tadhg Furlong (Clarkson HT) — 4: Was picked up where Thomas Clarkson was left off, unfortunately.
Edwin Edogbo (Ryan 70’) — 6: Made nine tackles in 10 minutes as Italy knocked on the door. A pity we didn’t see him with ball in hand.
Tadhg Beirne (McCarthy 52’) — 6: Was, by his own standards, relatively quiet, but contributed some nice link play and defended belligerently.
Nick Timoney (Izuchukwu 59’) — 6: Not quite as explosive an introduction as last week but made himself known on both sides of the ball.
Jamison Gibson-Park (Casey 52′) — 7: Kicked away a penalty advantage when Ireland had a chance to kill the game on 62 minutes but otherwise was an upgrade on Casey, adding more fizz and assuredness to Ireland’s game. Exquisite box kick pinned Italy back at a crucial juncture in the final quarter.
Jack Crowley (Prendergast 56’) — 6: Made an instant impact with several key involvements in Baloucoune’s try and was certainly an improvement on Prendergast on the day, including from the tee. Kick dead at the end was inexcusable and costs him a 7.
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