A 51-point win yet a flat dressing-room

They scored 57 points by the end but it seems that Ireland were spooked by the unusual situation facing them.

Ireland’s Josh van der Flier with the player of the match award after the game

Even cakewalks come at a price in rugby. By the time Josh van der Flier walked off the Aviva Stadium pitch after yesterday’s farce of a game against Italy he was sporting both a black eye and a busted lip.

“I didn’t want to come off,” he explained, “I was enjoying it out there.”