SIMON EASTERBY ADMITTED he was “a little bit disappointed” by Ireland’s performance as they rounded off their Six Nations Championship with a narrow, bonus-point success over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

But the interim head coach, who will continue in the role into the summer while Andy Farrell steers the Lions to Australia, believes Ireland have “started the process of evolving” for the future as they prepare to bid farewell to retiring all-time greats Cian Healy, Peter O’Mahony, and Conor Murray.

Easterby credited Italy for refusing to relent in front of a half-and-half crowd at the Olimpico, although he stressed that Ireland’s inaccuracies ultimately caused a far more tense finish than felt necessary in a 22-17 win.

“Had we got a bit further ahead of them, we could have broken the back of them a little bit but we allowed them to stay in the game,” Easterby said.

“They had a part to play in that but certainly, we probably coughed up too much possession. We didn’t quite make the most of some of the opportunities that we had.

“It was tighter than it should have been given the amount of possession we had in the second half.”

While Cian Healy was forced to watch the entire game from the stand, giving way in the matchday 23 to his protégé of sorts, Jack Boyle, fellow Irish legends Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray were thrown into the fore at key junctures in the second half.

O’Mahony in particular was visibly emotional at full-time as the trio bid farewell to the test stage. At the opposite end of the career spectrum, meanwhile, the Six Nations’ officially anointed ‘Rising Player’, Sam Prendergast, promised a special night of appreciation for “three absolute greats of Irish rugby”.

Easterby and his fellow coaches, meanwhile, must contend with the practical implications of losing almost 400 caps’ worth of experience from their team environment.

And Ireland’s interim coach, who has worked with O’Mahony, Murray and Healy at national level for over a decade, was particularly forthcoming about their respective legacies among their peers.

“I think those three players have been incredible for what they’ve done on the pitch”, Easterby said, “but we spoke in the changing room about what they’ve done off the pitch for the players who play in a similar position to them; how they’ve connected with players from other provinces.

“They’ve really left their mark on the team, on Irish rugby, and certainly, internally, they’ve had a real impact on management, coaches and players.

“That is part and parcel of sport: people move on and we’ll certainly recognise and acknowledge that tonight.

But we’ll have to move on and I think that the fact that Jack Boyle has done well and got a couple of caps under his belt, under the guidance of Fogs (John Fogarty) and Cian… that’s a nice part of what Cian has been able to do: his relationship with other front-rows.

“The team has to move forward and has to produce the next Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray. That’s the challenge.”

Ireland have already begun that process at out-half, where the berth left by franchise-player equivalent Johnny Sexton has been filled by a new starter in successive years.

Having handed the reins to Sam Prendergast for the first four games of this year’s championship, Easterby described Jack Crowley’s first test start since early November as “good in a slightly inconsistent team performance”.

“I thought he did well,” added the former Ireland back row. “I think the positive thing for us is we’ve had the experience for Sam in that position and Jack’s come into the group this week and he’s led the team well.

The undeniable external consensus, though, is that Ireland have taken a step backward in this championship, failing to retain their title and effectively running aground during the final two weeks of their campaign.

They conceded twice as many tries in this year’s competition — 14 — as they did last season, scoring three fewer of their own, and the psychological impact of last weekend’s defeat to France will prove difficult to walk off, as we may have seen today.

But Easterby, who will lead a younger crop minus Ireland’s eventual Lions to Georgia and Portugal in the summer, says Ireland are still very much a work in progress after this year’s move towards a more off-ball, kick-heavy, territory-based game yielded mixed performances.

“Yeah, I think we have started the process of evolving,” he said. “I think you saw a few examples today and we’ve seen a few examples across the championship.

“What’s probably the challenge for us is to make sure we’re more consistent in how we evolve and how much we see of that.

Related Reads

'It's a good reminder that there's more in us... we're by no means the finished article'

'It's been a mixed bag' - Prendergast named Six Nations' Rising Player for 2025

Player ratings as Ireland very unspectacularly hold off Italian challenge in Rome

“It’s both sides of the ball, it’s set-piece. I think you continually try to chase down performances and try to create things that excite the players, something to grab hold of and something to chase down.

“At times, we’ve been very good and at other times, we haven’t, but the team will continue to evolve. If not, other teams will work you out, y’know?

“We want to get better at what we’re good at but also know we need to keep improving on areas where we’re not.”