Why Keith Earls' inspirational chase could make all the difference for Ireland

The problem with playing against Italy, especially at home, is that everyone is expecting a cakewalk and even when you deliver a comprehensive win, as Ireland did Saturday, invariably it comes with caveats, writes Donal Lenihan.

On this occasion, the loss to injury of Robbie Henshaw for the rest of the season is not only a big blow to Ireland’s title aspirations but also to Leinster’s European ambitions. Of equal concern is the tweaked hamstring that forced Tadhg Furlong off the field without a single scrum engagement just three minutes into the match.

The medical prognosis on him after the game was more positive which is encouraging given his key role in the side, especially as the Welsh scrum has proved pretty effective in the championship to date. I fear, however, that a dodgy hamstring may require a bit more time than the two weeks Furlong now has available to him.

Italian coach Conor O’Shea is hoping to link up with Joe Schmidt in Dublin this morning to pick his brain. He wants to know what areas Schmidt identified and highlighted to his players in advance of the game as a weakness and gain an independent view on where Italy need to improve before the 2019 World Cup. It could be a long meeting.

It is somewhat ironic that in the recent past when Italy had a bruising pack of forwards with the capacity to take on allcomers, they lacked direction at half-back and a cutting edge out wide.

O’Shea has made real progress on the attacking side of Italy’s game with their ability to punish teams off poor kicks and from broken play - they have scored five tries in their opening two games, but their pack is incapable of delivering any semblance of decent quality ball and the set piece is very average.

That said, it has been a really punishing eight days for the Italians having to take on joint-favorites England and Ireland in the opening two games whilst having to cope with a six-day turnaround in between.

Schmidt, despite concerns about a dodgy final 30 minutes of action that coincided with the withdrawal of first choice half backs Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray, is in a good position after the opening phase of the tournament with Ireland now sitting on top of the table, up from third after the opening round, ahead of England on points difference.

In reality, Ireland were always going to secure a bonus point win in this game, the only real surprise that the four-try bonus was in the bag as early as the 36th minute. Even against the poorest of Italian sides, it always took at least 50 minutes to break them down. That was due primarily to the power of their set piece with the scrum always proving a handful and their lineout a well-oiled machine, with Sergio Parisse a menace on the opposition throw. The problem for the Italians at the moment is they are attempting to move away from that attritional game and utilise the pace and power of players such as new full back Matteo Minozzi.

Without that platform up front, they had little or no possession to work off. That coupled with the fact Ireland refused to kick any possession away to the visitors, at least when Sexton was directing operations, meant they spent the vast majority of the afternoon making tackles but unfortunately their defensive organisation wasn’t very good.

While match statistic can often be misleading, Saturday’s only served to confirm the dominance Ireland enjoyed in all the key sectors but most pronounced in terms of their attack. Ireland had 150 carries, made 610 metres, beat 28 Italian defenders and nine clean breaks while only conceding a measly three penalties throughout. They were in total control.

While a lead of 28 points without conceding a single score should have led to a high degree of satisfaction in the Irish dressing room at half-time, in all probability that wasn’t the case. Normally so efficient off set-piece, Ireland butchered two gilt-edged try-scoring chances in that opening half, one off a five metre scrum due to a miscommunication on a back row move, the other off a five-metre attacking lineout when the ball was fumbled by Devin Toner while attempting to shift the point of the drive. Despite that the game was over as a meaningful contest before half-time.

The crowd certainly sensed as much and the muted atmosphere in the stadium reflected that. It just didn’t feel like a Six Nations outing and, at times, resembled a training run. Italy have now conceded 26 tries and a staggering 177 points to Ireland in the last three Six Nations outings while the introduction of the bonus points system and the importance of points differential has put an even bigger target on Italian backs against all opposition.

The mindset and approach of the Irish team was clear and obvious from as early as the first kickable penalty of the game when Sexton kicked to the corner rather than call for the tee. There would be no time wasted building a score off the boot in this game, chasing five pointers was the clear intent.

The one big blemish on the performance was the concession of three second-half tries, all of which can be traced to poor defending. Andy Farrell won’t be happy with that as it will encourage Wales, Scotland and England to go on the hunt with ball in hand even more.

On a day when the headlines were being kept in reserve for the international debut of a potential star of the future in Jordan Larmour, it was another tournament debutant, Andrew Porter, who made the more telling impact. Introduced out of necessity for Furlong, his scrummaging was rock solid, his carrying strong and punishing.

The circumstances of Larmour’s international introduction was unfortunate when he slipped onto the field, almost unnoticed, with the crowd acknowledging the injury-enforced departure of Henshaw, who dislocated his shoulder in the act of scoring his second try of the afternoon.

The fact that Larmour was stood up and beaten on the outside by Minozzi soon after his arrival offered a clear signal that this was a step up from what he had encountered to date. Thankfully, that reality check did little to dampen his zest for attack as one mesmerising display of footwork, which left three Italian defenders bamboozled, showcased what he is capable of. He will be better for this experience.

On the opposite end of the experience scale Keith Earls, who enjoyed another excellent showing in a season that just gets better and better, displayed the type of determination and fight that Schmidt loves when saving Joey Carbery’s blushes after his loose pass was intercepted when Ireland should have tagged on a ninth try.

The fact that Earls tracked back 70 metres to chase down a fellow winger in Mattia Bellini, who looked certain to score, was an inspiration to all.

Given that this championship could yet be decided by points differential, the significance of that moment, with Earls refusing to give up, could yet prove more important.

Even now, that Earls tackle is the sole reason why Ireland sit above England in the championship table by virtue of a +2 points differential. The challenge now is to stay there.