Irish patience paid off in Italian job, says Humphreys

Ireland 61 Italy 6

Ireland struggled against a dogged Italian side for close on 40 minutes but then cut loose.

Humphreys said: "The Italians were bound to provide some kind of challenge. Sure, we found it difficult to break them down in the first half and there were times when we didn't exactly help ourselves.

"Italy are better organised now. We knew they would be very physical and they were. At this level, it takes time to break sides down. You must keep plugging away to get the rewards. You try one thing and it doesn't work so you try something else.

"The tries before half-time might have looked easy in execution but the build-up to both was good. Once you put up a couple of scores, the gaps appear easier to exploit."

"Despite the early difficulties, I felt we were always in control. There was never a hint of panic. We spoke amongst ourselves right through that period and we were confident the scores would come because we believe we are a better team than they are. It's all about confidence."

The Irish front row had some difficulty and some of the early attacking ploys looked pretty static but there were plenty positive points for coach Eddie O'Sullivan to digest.

Ireland's lineout was solid and, apart from two periods of dominance from the Italian pack, O'Sullivan's men were much stronger.

Ireland survived five minutes and 13 phases of assault from the visitors in the second quarter, which says much for the quality of the defence.

In the end, eight tries was a rich dividend and O'Sullivan will be even happier at keeping a clean sheet.

Between now and Monday decision day for his world cup squad his main worry will be the injuries to John Hayes and Emmet Byrne, the only really qualified tight head props.

Ireland are unlikely to survive a World Cup battle against Argentina with the front row on show against the Italians, particularly with Reggie Corrigan forced to play number three.

However, people like Humphreys have every reason to be happy. The outhalf kicked well out of hand, distributed effectively and his goal kicking (nine from 11) was excellent.

He said: "Myself, Rog (Ronan O'Gara) and Geordan (Murphy) have worked hard on goal-kicking but it's not something I dwell on too much. But yes, it's nice to put them through the middle of the sticks."

But Humphreys emphasised this was effectively a team performance. He said: "Backs can only play well if the forwards do the business. They provided us with some quality ball and there was a lot of good group work for the tries.

"We got two tries through counter-attacks and another three or four after working through a number of phases. I think most of them were of a fairly high quality.

"I think this performance was a step up from the game against Wales. Although we won that first game we weren't entirely pleased with our performance.

"The aim has been to improve our performance levels and cut down on mistakes. I believe our defence has tightened up and that's because we worked hard to rectify the mistakes against Wales.

"These three matches are all about helping us sharpen up so that we're prepared for the World Cup."

Further experiment is unlikely as the bandwagon rolls on to Murrayfield on Saturday and Ireland will be in confident mood following Scotland's defeat by Wales in Cardiff.

Scoring sequence: Ireland: D. Hickie 4 tries, J. Kelly, S. Byrne, G. Dempsey try each, D. Humphreys try, 3 penalties, 6 conversions).

Italy: G. Peens 2 penalties.

IRELAND: G. Dempsey (Terenure), J. Kelly (Cork Constitution), B. O'Driscvoll (Blackrock, captain), R. Henderson (Garryowen), D. Hickie (St. Mary's), D. Humphreys (Dungannon), G. Easterby (Rotherham), M. Horan (Shannon), S. Byrne (Blackrock), R. Corrigan (Greystones), G. Longwell (Ballymena), L. Cullen (Blackrock), V. Costello (St. Mary's), E. Miller (Terenure).

Replacements. K. Dawson 9London Irish) for Costello (29, inj),J. Fitzpatrick (Castres) for Corrigan (54), J. Bell (Dungannon) for O'Driscoll (68), P. Shields (Ballymena) for Byrne, D. O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution) for Miller, B. O'Meara (Cork Constitution) for Easterby, G. Murphy (Leicester) for Hickie (all 72).

ITALY: G. Peens (Parma), N. Mazzucato (Calvisano), C. Stoica (Montpellier), M. Barbini (Padova), D. Sacca (Parma), F. Mazzariol (Parma), A. Toncon (Treviso, captain), A. Lo Cicero (Lazio/Primavera), F. Ongaro (Treviso), L. Castrogiovanni (Calvisano), C. Bezzi (Viadana), M. Giacheri (Randwick), A. De Rossi (Calvisano), S. Parisse (Treviso), M. Bergamasco.

Replacements. A. Masi Viadana) for Sacca (24, inj), A. Persico (Leeds) for Masi (53, inj), M. Phillips (Viadana) for Giacheri (58), C. Festuccia (Parma) for Ongaro (60, inj).

Referee: S. Lander (England).