Ireland player ratings versus Italy
Ireland picked up their second win of the Natwest 6 Nations with a comprehensive 56-19 win over Italy.
A win for Joe Schmidt’s side never looked in doubt with Ireland scoring four tries in the first half, with the same number again in the second. Robbie Henshaw and Jacob Stockdale both scored twice. The disappointment for Joe Schmidt will be three tries conceded in the second half, with the game becoming more open.
Injuries to Tadgh Furlong and Henshaw are a concern ahead of what will be a much sterner test against Wales in two weeks.
A superb performance from @IrishRugby…#IREvITA#NatWest6Nations pic.twitter.com/eXGH7g8Det
— NatWest 6 Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 10, 2018
15. Rob Kearney – 5
A quiet game from the Ireland full back, more involved in the first half from an attacking perspective but faded after that.
14. Keith Earls – 9
Earls has been in fine form for Munster and he took that into this contest. Came off his wing on several occasions and was a lively threat. He finished off a fine break from Bundee Aki to score a try in the 36th minute. Moved into the centre when Henshaw went off injured. Showed huge desire and wonderful pace to track back and tackle Mattia Bellini in the 80th minute, when the Italian looked a certainty to score.
13. Robbie Henshaw – 8
An excellent start to the game, making a few notable breaks. Scored Ireland’s opening try crashing over next to the posts. Scooped up a loose Sergio Parisse pass early in the second half and raced in from 30 metres. He landed awkwardly while trying to fend off a tackle and picked up a shoulder injury in the process, going off in a sling. Ireland missed him defensively after that.
12. Bundee Aki – 8
New Zealand born Aki carried plenty of ball in Ireland’s win over France and it was the same again here in Dublin. He recovered from a few early spills to barge over in 21st minute, for his first international try. Set up Ireland’s fourth try with an excellent break after spotting a mismatch, giving Keith Earls a run-in.
11. Jacob Stockdale – 7
Four tries in five appearances before this one and eager to add to his tally. Had a shaky opening half, a clearance from his 22 failed to make touch and also gave away a penalty in the 39th minute after getting isolated. He improved in the second half, scoring on the hour mark. The Ulster winger showed good poise for an intercept try in the 70th minute, picking up Tommaso Castello’s loose ball, racing in from his own half – he demonstrated electric pace to beat Jayden Hayward on the outside.
10. Johnny Sexton – 7
Faultless kicking display from the tee in the first half, including two conversions from tight to the right and left touchlines. Overcooked a grubber kick for Earls in the 31st minute, with the ball going dead. His trademark looping runs were plentiful, which helped open up the Italian defence. He was replaced by Joey Carbury in the 51st minute and Ireland lacked direction after that.
9. Conor Murray – 8
Another energetic performance from Ireland’s scrum half and a try scorer in the 14th minute. Dictated the pace of the game and he was missed when he was replaced by Kieran Marmion, with Ireland losing a measure of control.
1. Jack McGrath – 6
Preferred to Cian Healy for this one and did nothing wrong. Had a few carries and faultless at scrum time. Replaced in 68th minute by Healy.
2. Rory Best – 7
Lineout functioned without any problems. At the tail of a rolling maul to muscle his way over for a second half try. Replaced by Sean Cronin in the 61st minute.
3. Tadhg Furlong N/A
Went off in the fourth minute with a hamstring injury, replaced by his Leinster clubmate Andrew Porter .
4. Iain Henderson – 6
Carried plenty of ball in the first half, solid but not spectacular. Substituted at half-time by Quinn Roux.
5. Devin Toner – 5
Lost his place to James Ryan for the France game. Did little to suggest he should maintain the jersey for the Wales game.
6. Peter O’Mahoney – 6
His usual industrious self, making himself a nuisance whenever Italy managed to gain possession.
7. Dan Leavy – 6
With Josh van der Flier out for the rest of the season, this was Leavy’s chance to make his mark from the start. He provided the key turnover for Ireland’s fourth try. Looked sluggish as he tried to reach Tomasso Castello, when the Italian’s break set up their first try.
8. Jack Conan – 5
His first ever 6 Nations start and brought in to give CJ Stander a break. A try assist for Conor Murray, but apart from that he failed to leave an impression. A shoulder injury saw him replaced at the break.
Replacements:
16. Sean Cronin – 5
A lively hooker in the loose, but he didn’t get a chance to showcase this in his 20 minutes on the pitch.
17. Cian Healy – 5
A 68th minute substitute for Jack McGrath. Too little time to make an impression.
18. Andrew Porter – 7
Came far earlier than expected, because of a 4th minute injury to Furlong. Stood up to the test from the Italian front row at scrum time and also carried well, can be pleased with his performance.
19. Quinn Roux – 5
A half-time substitute for Iain Henderson. Not a notable game from the Connacht man, but did little wrong either.
20. CJ Stander – 6
His usual tireless workrate when he came on in the second half for the injured Jack Conan.
21. Kieran Marmion – 5
Replaced Conor Murray in the 51st minute. The game became far too open after that and he failed to take it by the scruff of the neck
22. Joey Carbery – 5
Slotted over all three conversions that he faced. Tried to force things and it didn’t always come off, Keith Earls won’t thank him for a pass which saw him throttled by two Italians deep in his own 22.
23. Jordan Larmour – 5
Came up too fast in defence and missed a tackle on Matteo Minozzi in the build up to Italy’s second try. Failed to stop Italy’s third try either, his defensive positioning was too narrow and was beaten in the corner by Minozzi again. He did show flickers of his dancing feet late on, cutting through the Italian defence in the final minute.
Joe Schmidt reveals extent of Henshaw and Furlong injuries
Bundee Aki speaks after scoring his first international try for Ireland
Comments on RugbyPass
Great story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
39 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
39 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
39 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to comments