‘We need to prove we’re not just a 40-minute team’

Rob Kearney has called on Ireland to finish the RBS 6 Nations campaign in style with a strong second half in Italy to dispel any notion the Irish are just a 40-minute team.

Ireland’s championship may have been blighted by injuries but it is the wasted scoring opportunities that have most frustrated the players, particularly in the second half of matches when Declan Kidney’s side have scored just three points beyond the 50-minute mark, a 58th-minute Ronan O’Gara penalty against England, in four games.

Last weekend’s 13-13 draw with France, when Ireland’s scores dried up in the 32nd minute, highlighted the deficiency, despite the result ending a two-game losing streak, and Kearney said a big second 40 minutes in Rome was top of the agenda.