Ireland must be ruthless

REGARDED by many as the minnows of the Six Nation’s championship, Italy arrive in Dublin today with designs on being the ultimate party poopers.

In times past, this encounter was a potential banana skin for the Irish. However, the Ireland of recent vintage is more professional than that. The scheduling of the game will cause concerns for Eddie O’Sullivan given that it is sandwiched in between the glory of Twickenham and the potential for Triple Crown immortality against Scotland next weekend.

As a result, “focus” has been the buzzword in the Irish camp in the build up to this game.