Classy Ireland are serious contenders, says Kirwan
Italian coach John Kirwan, the former All Black, noted the display and warned France, Wales and England to beware as Eddie O'Sullivan's team charged to an unprecedented eighth consecutive victory.
There were occasional worrying moments in this game, most notably in the frantic opening exchanges, but in a six-day spell Ireland have hit the ground running in a serious quest for an elusive Six Nations prize, be that the Triple Crown, the title or even the Grand Slam.
Kirwan believes they can do at least one of the three this season: "They will surely be confident now against France in two weeks' time. They will surely beat Wales if they continue playing this well and, let's put it this way, it will be a very interesting game if it all goes down to the wire for the last game against England at Lansdowne Road."
Ireland retained a sense of perspective. "We are just happy to get this match over. It has been a difficult week with two days of travel squeezed in between two games over six days," said O'Sullivan.
"It has been a great start but there is still work to be done. I am delighted at the result, delighted at the way we defended and even more delighted at the way the chances were finished.
"We're disappointed with some of our handling mistakes, particularly some in the first half, and maybe we did try to force the pace of the game too much, maybe we weren't as patient as we should have been. Happily, it all worked out in the end."
O'Sullivan said before the game that he would take any type of victory just to keep the winning show on the road. Five tries later he had no reason to complain. "It was a physical game. People don't always give the Italians credit for the way they play the game, for the way they disrupt and attack the opposition. That was a pretty physical match and we knew we had to do certain things to have a good chance of putting this to bed. We achieved most of what we set out to achieve."
Critics might note the statistical data available from both of Italy's games to date. Last week against Wales, they stole five lineouts, had no difficulties in coming to terms with the Welsh scrum and won the match in a canter by 30-22.
On Saturday it was Ireland's turn to disrupt. The Italians were barely able to cope with the intensity of the Irish scrum and lost six of their own throws. They were mauled off the pitch and, with limited quality of possession from set pieces, they were unable to compete meaningfully in the rucks either.
It was not all plain sailing for Ireland in the opening half although they did manage to pull 15 points clear, taking advantage of the pressure they created with two tries.
Ireland made numerous handling mistakes from broken phases but their set-piece play was rock solid.
The Italians took the field early for the second half, attempting to draw some inspiration from the passionate home support, but found themselves on the back foot immediately when man-of-the-match David Humphreys glided in for Ireland's third try in the fourth minute.
Frustration set in for the home side although they did raise the challenge briefly when Denis Dallan stole in for a 15th minute try that was converted.
At just 13 points adrift, Italy felt they were in the game but, finally, Brian O'Driscoll exploded into action for his record-breaking Irish try that Humphreys converted. Ireland played out time cleverly and took all the right options. They were patient and ultimately the class of the backs was enough to yield their fifth try, in between an Italian penalty.
If it wasn't quite a totally inspired performance, it was close.
Scoring sequence
First half: 18 mins Peter Stringer try, David Humphreys conversion, 7-0. 25 mins Humphreys penalty, 10-0. 30 mins John Kelly try, 15-0. 31 mins Diego Dominguez try, 15-3. 39 mins Humphreys penalty, 18-3.
Second half: 4 mins Humphreys try, 23-3. 15 mins Denis Dallan try. Ramiro Pez conversion, 23-10. 19 mins Brian O'Driscoll try, Humphreys conversion, 30-10. 30 mins Pez penalty, 30.13. 32 mins Geordan Murphy try, Humphreys conversion, 37-13.
ITALY: P. Vaccari (Calvisano), M. Bergamasco (Treviso), C. Stoica (Castres), G. Raineri (Calvisano), D. Dallan (Treviso), D. Dominguez (Stade Francais), A. Troncon (captain), G. De Carli (Calvisano), C. Festuccia (Parma), R. Martinez (Treviso), C. Bezzi (Viadana), M. Bortolami (Petrarca), A. De Rossi (Calvisano), M. Phillips (Viadana), A. Persico (Viadana).
Replacements. R. Pez (Rtherham) for Dominguez (47, L. Castrogiovanni (Calvisano) for Martinez (60), S. Palmer (Treviso) for Phillips (70), Mirko Bergamasco (Petrarca) for Dallan (72).
IRELAND: G. Murphy (Leicester), J. Kelly (Cork Constitution), B. O'Driscoll (Blackrock, captain), K. Maggs (Bath), D. Hickie (St. Mary's), D. Humphreys (Dungannon), P. Stringer (Shannon), R. Corrigan (Greystones), S. Byrne (Blackrock), J. Hayes (Shannon), G. Longwell (Ballymena), M. O'Kelly (St. Mary's), V. Costello (Blackrock), A. Foley (Shannon), K. Gleeson (St. Mary's).
Replacements. M. Horan (Shannon) for Corrigan (39, injured), L. Cullen (Blackrock) for Longwell (63), F. Sheahan (Cork Constitution) for Byrne, A. Quinlan (Shannon) for Costelloe (both 71), G. Easterby (Llanelli) for Stringer, R. Henderson (Young Munster) for Kelly (both 76).
Referee: T. Spreadbury (England).
