Close call as Ireland U20s dig deep for victory

Ireland 19 Italy 13: Fitful, imprecise and, for large periods, distinctly unimpressive.

There is a strong case for arguing that this was the worst of the Ireland U20s’ four Six Nations outings to date, but Nigel Carolan’s lads just about found a means of delivering a second successive win after two opening losses.

Ireland’s last action had been two weeks ago in Newcastle’s Kingston Park, where they rattled off 20 unanswered points to claim a stunning first victory of the campaign, but all that momentum had frittered away come kick-off last night.