Forgettable day at the office

IT’S a straight-out-of-the-book recipe for a very poor game of rugby when Grand Slam champions perform like wooden spooners and the opposition do likewise.

And that’s what the 77,786 supporters in Croke Park on Saturday had to endure as Ireland huffed and puffed their way to a 29-11 victory in the RBS Six Nations opener. The second-half surely qualified for a place among the worst 40 minutes in the history of international rugby.

Ireland and Italy did their best to kick the cover off the ball. That was bad enough in itself. To make matters worse, though, most of it was aimless and purposeless. More often than not, when they tried for touch, they missed. When they sought field position, much the same applied.