Ireland player ratings vs Italy | 2023 Guinness Six Nations
Ireland player ratings: After a crucial – maybe even tournament-deciding – win against France, a rapidly improving Italy at Stadio Olimpico might have seemed on the face of it more of a ‘banana skin’ game for Andy Farrell’s World No.1s. than a seismic task.
Still, Six Nations matches don’t win themselves. Farrell chose to mix up his selection with a first Six Nations start for both Ross Byrne and Craig Casey. A late calf issue also sidelined Garry Ringrose, forcing a change-up in the midfield.
What transpired was easily Ireland’s scrappiest game of 2023 to date, with great attacking moments set against a backdrop of a leaky defence, sloppy asides and some strangely flat performances from the men in green.
The Irish coaches are looking nervous as Italy pile on the pressure coming into the final 10 minutes ? #SixNationsRugby #ITAvIRE pic.twitter.com/ecouhnojHZ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 25, 2023
15. Hugo Keenan – 8
Fast becoming Ireland’s Mr Immaculate, the unflappable Keenan is undoubtedly the most well-rounded 15 in the game. Another superb outing here for the former Ireland Sevens star.
14. Mack Hansen – 7.5
Soft hands from Hansen were critical for Ireland’s second try. Penalised for a needless late shove but secured a try bonus point with a composed finish. Stepping Ange Cappuzzo will gloss over a lot of the shakier stuff. Finished off with an F-Bomb in his post-match interview.
13. Bundee Aki – 6
A trademark midfield break and offload from Aki saw Keenan score and he claimed his own seven minutes later despite having plenty of work to do. A sloppy pass gifted Pierre Bruno an intercept just before halftime. As pointed out by Jerry Flannery in RTE’s analysis, the Italians successfully targeted and exploited the 13 channel between the Connachtman and Lowe on the left wing. Fumbled a try that may well have settled the contest with 20 or so minutes to go. A truly mixed bag of a performance.
12. Stuart McCloskey – 6
Another low-key if effective performance from McCloskey who does little wrong and plenty right. You suspect Farrell would like to see more from the Ulsterman by way of game-breaking play at 12. Lucky to avoid being sin-binned for a swinging hand to the face of Cappuzzo.
11. James Lowe – 6.5
Fluffed his lines under pressure to drop the ball over the line, whilst trying to hand off Cappuzzo, but made up for it by putting James Ryan in a play or two later. Put Aki across 17 minutes later before awkwardly fumbling a kick in front of his own posts moments later. Still, made a lot of things happen for Ireland side that looked short of ideas at times.
10. Ross Byrne – 5
Flaky moments in defence, attack and with the boot sullied Byrne’s first-ever Six Nations start. It wasn’t all bad but he didn’t do enough to quieten his critics, many of whom are yet to be convinced he’s the heir apparent to Johnny Sexton’s empire. Needs more starts if he is to establish himself at Test level.
9. Craig Casey – 7
A lively performance from Casey, who brings an urgency and tempo to the table that’s missing under Conor Murray. Took a whack in his throat but carried on gamely.
1. Andrew Porter – 6
An important steal at 7-5 saved Ireland’s skin with the Azzurri threatening the line in the 11th minute. Did his job if little else.
2. Ronan Kelleher – 6
Got through a tonne of work and had plenty of decent touches but Dan Sheehan is still very much in control of the No.2 jersey.
3. Finlay Bealham – 6
Was involved in an ill-advised reenactment of the set play that worked so well for the Hugo Keenan try against France in Round 2, but the Italians read it. Scrummaged well.
4. Iain Henderson – 6
Rumours have linked Henderson with a move to France this week but if any conjecture about his club future didn’t show here. A concrete option at lineout time but a little flat in the carrying department.
5. James Ryan – 7
The skipper cantered over for a 5-pointer with just three minutes on the clock and a few enforced errors aside, lead the team well from the coalface.
6. Caelan Doris – 5.5
Maybe Doris’ weakest performance of the championship to date, which is no great slight given his superlative form in the first two rounds. He improved considerably once he was shifted to No.8.
7. Josh van der Flier – 6
Beavered away in Rome but this more of a slog for the World Player of Year, with the brilliant Italians edging the loose-forward contest.
8. Jack Conan – 6
A good charge down in the 12th minute. Getting run over by Sebastien Negri will rankle but Conan can’t be faulted for work rate.
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Dan Sheehan – NA
17. Dave Kilcoyne – NA
18. Tom O’Toole – 8
The Drogheda man scrummaged brilliantly when he came on, causing all sorts of issues for the Italians.
19. Ryan Baird – 7
Another strong performance from the bench, winning a telling turnover within minutes of coming on.
20. Peter O’Mahony – 7
Brought a hard edge and bolshie energy that Ireland had lacked here-to-fore in Rome.
21. Conor Murray – 8.5
Took the game by the scruff of the neck and delivered the moment of magic Ireland needed for Hansen late try.
22. Jack Crowley – NA
23. Jimmy O’Brien – NA
Comments on RugbyPass
Bell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
13 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
13 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to comments