Kirwan says Italians deflated by missed chances and ‘harsh’ decisions

ITALIAN coach John Kirwan was the last man in the queue to buy a drink for New Zealand referee Kelvin Deaker after Saturday’s RBS Six Nations clash at Lansdowne Road.

“I thought he was a bit harsh on us most of the day.” said Kirwan, who was disappointed with his side’s second-half scoring effort.

“We had the possibility of scoring two tries in the second half that might have made all the difference.”

Kirwan didn’t have any complaints about the weather, but noted it was more suited to sailing than rugby.

“There were two teams out there and both had to cope with the conditions. Maybe in the distant past Ireland would have been happy with that, but that’s not the case these days. They’re a good professional outfit and they like to be creative. In many ways, it was impossible to be creative in those conditions, but they managed three tries so you have to give them credit.

“We were really architects of our own downfall, because we didn’t match Ireland up front and didn’t take the chances presented to us.

“That was disappointing, but you have to give credit to Ireland for defending their lead with considerable dedication. We’re making forward strides and I’m actually pretty proud of the guys, because of the way they reacted in very difficult circumstances.

“They had some outstanding moments, kept tackling, kept attacking, but, at this level, you need to finish moves off ... Against a team like Ireland, you’ve got to finish off the chances. We put considerable pressure on them, but they coped. That’s the difference..”

Still, despite his admiration for Ireland, Kirwan admitted: “We really allowed a chance of victory to slip by. I felt, the players felt, there was an opportunity to win the game and that’s worse than actually losing.

“When you’re beaten badly it’s easier to address. We were beaten fair and square, there really are no complaints but equally the guys felt they could have won the game.”

Ireland, he believes, have to be rated as having a chance of winning the championship title.

“I’m sure Eddie [O’Sullivan] was pretty nervous at half-time, but the guys went out there and did the business afterwards. They’re a very solid side, good forwards, some very good backs and they’re rightly ranked as one of the top sides in the world.”

Nevertheless, Kirwan warned Ireland about complacency in their Triple Crown bid next week.

“Rugby is a funny type of game. I think Ireland should beat Scotland, but you just never know. Scotland will be up for it. Nobody expected Ireland to beat England, but the unexpected happened. I hope they do win but I wouldn’t bet my life savings on it either.”