This is one of those wins that will improve the further it recedes into the memory. At the time Ireland’s performance did not seem very impressive at all, notwithstanding the brace of tries they scored, one hot on the heels of the other, with around 15 minutes to go. However, in view of the calibre of players missing — and the added disruption of Sean O’Brien’s withdrawal with a hamstring strain minutes before kick-off — a 23-point away win over Italy looks more and more like a respectable start to their title defence.
Even over the course of the post-match media conferences, Joe Schmidt’s attitude towards his team’s achievement seemed to mellow. At the start he was nonplussed but by the time he had finished he was fairly throwing the word “happy” around. And why not? The more one thought about it, the more one talked, the more creditable the win became.
“I’m personally relieved that we got through with a points differential we’re happy enough with,” he ended up saying. “For us to get past that scratchy start and then to really squeeze them out of the game, I’m really happy with the way the players managed to do that. In the context of that first 20 minutes, when we were anxious and snatching at things, I’m really happy with the next 50 minutes we put together. Maybe the last 10 minutes we tried a little too hard when it was a bit of a deluge and conditions became really awkward.”
Next weekend, Ireland entertain France. Jamie Heaslip is fit to resume duties at the base of the scrum, Johnny Sexton will be available, his concussion stand-down expiring the day before, and Schmidt is hopeful that the hamstring strain O’Brien picked up when he slipped during the warm-up in Rome will have resolved itself.
Not that O’Brien need rush back. The man who stepped in to replace him had a fine game; Tommy O’Donnell topped Ireland’s tackle count – not that Ireland had many to make – and scored a fine individual try to lend the result that air of respectability, a couple of minutes after Conor Murray’s dart from a driven lineout had secured it.
Paul O’Connell, his captain with Ireland and Munster, was full of praise. “Sometimes guys find it hard to combine power and fitness,” he said, “but Tommy’s one of those guys who has both of them. With Munster it seems every time I get off the ground or look over he’s either carrying the ball or tackling someone. He prepares incredibly well, so he has no worries about coming in at the last minute. I’m very disappointed for Sean, but I’m delighted for Tommy.”
It was incredibly frustrating for O’Brien, whose wait for a first taste of international rugby in more than 14 months will go on for another week at least, but as a squad-strengthening exercise this match may yet prove valuable. The impressive Jordi Murphy’s international career is another 80 minutes long, and Ian Keatley, third choice behind Sexton and Paddy Jackson, survived a few early wobbles to land all of his goals and manage Ireland’s affairs well, particularly in the second half.
Keatley was implicated in Ireland’s looseness with the ball early on, when they spilled passes left, right and centre, despite a conservative policy of one-out ball-carrying. But in the second half they increased their tempo, forcing Italy into tackle after tackle. The home side made more than twice the number Ireland had to, Francesco Minto alone was credited with 25 of them.
They seemed to be handling it all, even if the referee found enough fault in their approach to penalise them, particularly in the first half. It meant Italy were trailing, harshly, 12-3 when the game entered the final quarter, and all that tackling took its toll. Leonardo Ghiraldini saw yellow for disrupting a driven lineout, and Ireland’s two quick tries followed immediately.
“This was a massive banana skin,” said Schmidt. “You know you’re going to be under a lot of pressure from these guys. Two years ago [when Ireland lost in Rome] was not a one-off. The time before, the result could have easily gone against us as well.”
Thus Schmidt left Rome an increasingly happy man. He knows there will have to be improvement if Ireland’s title defence is to prove successful but improvement can reasonably be expected.
Italy Masi (Venditti, 77); Sarto, Campagnaro (Allan, 63), Morisi, McLean; Haimona, Gori; Agüero (De Marchi, 53), Ghiraldini (Manici, 75), Castrogiovanni (Chistolini, 69), Biagi (Fuser, 75), Furno, Zanni (Barbini, 47), Minto, Parisse (capt).
Pen Haimona
Sin-bin Ghiraldini 64
Ireland R Kearney; Bowe, Payne (Jones, 68), Henshaw, Zebo; Keatley (Madigan, 66), Murray (Boss, 71); McGrath (J Cronin, 67), Best (S Cronin, 47), Ross (Moore, 52), Toner, O’Connell (capt), O’Mahony (Henderson, 66), O’Donnell, Murphy
Tries Murray, O’Donnell. Cons Keatley, Madigan. Pens Keatley 4.
Referee P Gauzère (Fr). Att 57,700
