A good day for those looking to prove themselves
In the circumstances it was difficult to escape the feeling Ireland’s win, in trying circumstances given the unwelcome withdrawal of Sean O’Brien a matter of minutes before kick off, was a game Joe Schmidt just wanted to win and get out of the way before the challenges that await over the next three weeks.
The primary objective of the exercise was to get out of the Stadio Olimpico relatively unscathed with the spoils in the bag and the potential to reintroduce three key squad players — Jamie Heaslip, Eoin Reddan and Johnny Sexton — for the two back-to-back home games against France and England.
Unfortunately, that French game is probably a week too soon to reintroduce Cian Healy who may see some Guinness Pro 12 action against the Dragons and Zebre before the England encounter.
England’s seismic win in Cardiff on Friday night and the manner with which they coped with the electric atmosphere and the concession of 10 points in as many minutes over the opening phase of the game said a lot about the character in Stuart Lancaster’s side.
They were the big winners over the opening weekend of action. With Italy next up in Twickenham, England should be in rude health when they arrive in Dublin in round three with the additional bonus of having a few of their injured players back to boost their squad even further.
France too bagged the all important win over Scotland to kick start their campaign and while they favour the bosh over the, now redundant, traditional French flair to open up opposition defences, they pack a frightening combination of power, bulk and physicality that will make life difficult for Ireland. Another slugfest awaits.
The injury jinx that derailed Ireland’s efforts on the last visit to Rome two years struck once again but the manner on this occasion was cruel in the extreme. Last season Ireland lost Paul O’Connell on the morning of the Scotland game but readjusted without breaking stride.
Against South Africa in November, Schmidt lost Chris Henry in similar circumstances with Rhys Ruddock stepping in seamlessly. Losing a player so close to kick off poses even more problems and with Jamie Heaslip also indisposed, the last thing Schmidt needed was another adjustment to his back row.
While O’Brien’s replacement Tommy O’Donnell looked a little uncertain of his role in the very first line out of the game, he quickly settled down to put in a very creditable performance, capped off with an excellent solo try that put the game beyond Italy’s reach.
Disappointed not to make the initial line-up, O’Donnell provided the coach with the exact type of response he would have hoped for. In Heaslip’s absence Jordi Murphy also put in an excellent day’s work.
Ireland attacked the Italian strengths right from the outset, undermining their scrum and using the line-out maul as a means of grinding out yardage and sapping the energy from the ageing Italian legs up front.
Given the issues surrounding Ireland’s scrum in the November series, it will have pleased Schmidt no end that Ireland threw down the gauntlet in that sector and were very comfortable in an area coming into the game Italy made no secret that they were expecting to boss. It will have pleased the front row union of Jack McGrath, Rory Best and Mike Ross enormously that nine of Ireland’s points resulted directly from three scrum penalties at a time when it was proving difficult to register points on the board via other routes.
While Ireland struggled to make inroads against that stubborn Italian defence for long periods, it was inevitable that the sheer weight of effort put into that facet of play by the hosts would eventually come at a cost. With Ireland dominating territory and possession, Italy were having to make tackles at a ratio of two to one, 205 to 106 over the course of the eighty minutes.
When the dam finally burst with a Conor Murray try on 62 minutes followed by that fine individual effort from O’Donnell minutes later, there was only going to be one winner. It was no surprise that the foundation for that game-changing seven-pointer from Murray stemmed from another impressive line-out maul. After stuttering somewhat in that department in the autumn, a key ingredient in Ireland’s championship success under the direction of John Plumtree last season is now fully back in harness under his successor, Simon Easterby.
What makes Saturday’s win even more impressive is that only six players that started in Ireland’s opening win over Scotland in last season’s tournament repeated the feat this time out. That represents a massive turnover in playing personnel.
Ireland’s back division has relied heavily on a highly successful Leinster contingent in that department for years. This time out Rob Kearney was the sole representative flying the flag for the province. The centre pairing of Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne, in only their second outing together, worked well as a unit and the range of passing that Payne offers in the outside channel will eventually bare fruit and create opportunities for others. These things take time.
Ian Keatley may find himself surplus to requirements for Saturday’s clash against the French with Sexton likely to start and Ian Madigan retained on the bench as he is more experienced in covering a number of positions at this level.
That, however, would be no reflection on the way Keatley performed on his tournament debut. His place kicking was exemplary with a 100% return of five from five. His tactical appreciation with the boot was also excellent and despite a few understandable nervous moments in the opening quarter, he did everything Schmidt asked of him and fully justified his inclusion.
While he may have to wait a while for another opportunity, he can take solace from the fact that he enhanced the prospects of forcing his way into Ireland’s World Cup squad in a few months time.
In the context of the impending World Cup date next October, this game carried far more resonance for Italy after their 46-7 annihilation in Dublin last year. With that clash in mind Italian captain Sergio Parisse summed up the feeling in their camp coming into this game when he said they needed to prove to themselves that they can be competitive against Ireland.
I’m not quite sure how they feel after this latest reversal but if rugby was a 60 minute game they could compete on equal terms with anyone. Until they address that issue, Italy are destined to end up bottom of the pile. On the other hand, Ireland, despite the fractured and stuttering nature of this win, still have much to look forward to.
