Ireland player ratings vs Italy | 2024 Guinness Six Nations
Ireland player ratings: Although Andy Farrell made plenty of changes, it didn’t stop Ireland making light work of a decent Italian side.
Here’s how we rated the players.
1. Andrew Porter – 7
Conceded a couple of penalties early, one against Italy’s no-nonsense scrum and the other for not rolling away. Started to really get into the Italian tighthead as the game wore on.
2. Dan Sheehan – 7.5
Business as usual for Sheehan and good business at that. Lineouts went well and he took his first obligatory try well, his seventh in national colours and eight came on 49 minutes. He’s not far off Keith Wood’s 15 Test try tally and he’s only 25.
3. Finlay Bealham – 7
Carried a little upright at times and was even stripped of the ball although an advantage saved his blushes. More importantly, the setpiece went well after a wobbly start for both himself and Porter.
4. Joe McCarthy – 6.5
After last week’s heroics in Marseille, it was hard to imagine ‘Big Joe’ scaling those heights again and in truth he didn’t quite summit here against the Azzurri. Still, a perfectly competent outing.
5. James Ryan – 6
A dependable performance from Ryan, who you guess might be feeling a little insecure with the rise of McCarthy and the unstoppability of Tadhg Beirne. Plenty of dominant tackles and unglamorous metres won with ball in hand.
6. Ryan Baird – 7
A shearing break just before the halftime break demonstrated the X Factor Baird possesses – namely the pace of a winger on a 6’6 backrower’s frame. Would have liked to have seen more of it.
7. Caelan Doris – 6
A fine debut as captain. As with the France game, started relatively quiet but brought his force to bear as the game wore on and Italian shoulders wilted.
8. Jack Conan – 7
A relatively rare start for Ireland’s former first-choice No.8, he made his presence felt with a well-taken five-pointer just before halftime. Missed the odd tackle but otherwise a pretty positive outing.
9. Craig Casey – 8
Excellent service from the Munster man, which established a tempo that the Italians struggled to live when Ireland had possession. Likes a snipe too, keeping the Italian pillar defence on their toes.
10. Jack Crowley – 8
Much better from Crowley, who put an error-riddle performance in Marseille behind him. Took his try brilliantly to open Ireland’s account with eight minutes on the clock and conducted the backline superbly.
11. James Lowe – 8
Lost the ball in contact with the Italian line beckoning and was a times a little loose in terms of his ball possession. Was a threatening presence behind the scrum and was constantly looking for work. His kicking out of hand was first-rate, his booming boot now the Aviva Stadium’s equivalent of ASMR. Was good value for his try.
12. Stuart McCloskey – 6.5
A sound display from the big Ulsterman at 12, selflessly putting try hog Sheehan away in the 25th minute when others may have tucked it under the jumper and gone glory hunting. His kicking was a little hit-and-miss but was generally low-risk and was one of Ireland’s most frequent carriers.
13. Robbie Henshaw – 7.5
The Italians struggled to contain Henshaw, two breaks from the centre leading to Ireland’s opening try and he offloaded superbly for Sheehan’s try. Got a little greedy when having a try correctly disallowed by Luke Pearce for ‘double movement’ aka playing the ball on the ground.
14. Calvin Nash – 7
Had precious few opportunities to make his mark in the first half and like many rookie wingers at Test level, is stuck between not making any errors and actually getting his hands on the ball. Took a smart line to cross for his second Ireland try in two games.
15. Hugo Keenan – 7.5
Set the tone with an early break and didn’t give the Italians too much change in the kicking exchanges. Made a remarkable break when chasing what looked like a lost cause, catching the Italian’s napping and ultimately laying the platform for Henshaw’s 55th-minute no-try effort.
Substitutes
16. Ronan Kelleher – 7
Continued where Sheehan left off, conducting Ireland’s catch-and-drive efforts ably.
17. Jeremy Loughman – 7
Offered plenty around the park and did his job at scrum time.
18. Tom O’Toole – 7
A much-needed run out for O’Toole who came on with 55 minutes on the clock and he was fairly blowing by the 80th.
19. Iain Henderson – 7.5
Got involved straight away after coming on for Ryan, staying busy in what was his 80th appearance for Ireland.
20. Josh van der Flier – 7
Made a break up the middle of the park shortly after coming on and was a nuisance thereafter.
21. Jamison Gibson-Park – 7
Came on at 72 minutes but did well to put Nash away in the 78th minute. Easy money for JGP.
22. Harry Byrne – 6
Back from injury, Byrne kept the show on the road, even if Ireland seemed to take the foot off the peddle during his time on the pitch.
23. Jordan Larmour – 6
It’s been a minute for Larmour who has featured for Ireland in recent seasons. Was busting to make an impression but maybe forced his hand on occasion.
Comments on RugbyPass
“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
37 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
5 Go to comments