Ireland v Italy result: Rampant Irish in a league of their own after Six Nations rout
Ireland's attempt to win the grand slam for the second year in a row remained strong as they easily defeated Italy, scoring six tries. This victory once again demonstrated that they are the leading team in the Six Nations tournament.
Following England's hard-fought win against the Azzurri during round one in Rome, there was optimism that Gonzalo Quesada's team, which had been making progress, could challenge Ireland in Dublin.
The guests were no match for Andy Farrell's team, who had just achieved an impressive triumph against France in Marseille. They demonstrated how to effectively defeat a weaker opponent, leaving England with lessons to learn.
They didn't have to perform exceptionally well. They scored three tries in both the first and second halves of the game. Hooker Dan Sheehan scored two, while Jack Crowley, Jack Conan, James Lowe (who was named man-of-the-match), and Calvin Nash all scored one try each. The Irish were dominant as the Italians barely made it past their 22m line.
England's revamped defensive strategy has received a lot of attention during the first two rounds. It will definitely face its ultimate challenge at Twickenham on March 9th.
Before moving forward, England needs to defeat Scotland at Murrayfield. On the other hand, in a couple of weeks, Ireland has high hopes of winning against Wales in Dublin.
The score breakdown goes like this: Crowley scored a try worth 5 points, Sheehan scored a try worth 10 points, Crowley converted for an extra 2 points bringing the score to 12-0, Conan scored a try worth 17 points, Crowley converted again adding 2 more points making the score 19-0, Sheehan scored another try worth 24 points, Lowe then scored a try bringing the score to 29-0, Nash secured another try extending the lead to 34-0, and finally Byrne converted the last try making the final score 36-0.
Ireland's team lineup for the match included H Keenan who was subbed out for H Byrne at the 56th minute, followed by C Nash, R Henshaw, and S McCloskey. J Lowe then took over the game, assisted by J Crowley, and C Casey played until the 73rd minute where J Gibson-Park stepped in. The front row saw A Porter replaced by J Loughman also at the 56th minute, D Sheehan made way for R Kelleher, and F Bealham was subbed out for T O'Toole. The second row had J McCarthy filling in for J Ryan until I Henderson was brought in at the 61st minute. R Baird played until the 66th minute where J van der Flier took over. Lastly, C Doris and J Conan were present for the entire game.
The Italy rugby team player lineup for their match included Capuozzo, L Pani, F Mori, J I Brex, T Menoncello, M Ioane, P Garbisi, and S Varney. Later in the game, M Page-Relo took the place of Varney. Fischetti was switched out for M Spagnolo at the 56th minute mark, while G Lucchesi made room for G Nicotera. P Ceccarelli was taken out in favor of G Zilocchi at the 40th minute. N Cannone and F Ruzza remained in the game, as did A Izekor. M Zuliani was switched out for R Vintcent towards the end of the game, at the 70th minute.
Match official: Luke Pearce from England.
