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Routine win keeps Ireland on track for back-to-back Grand Slams

By PA
Jack Crowley celebrates scoring Ireland's opening try versus Italy (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Jack Crowley claimed an overdue first senior try as Ireland continued their Guinness Six Nations title defence with a resounding 36-0 bonus-point win over Italy in Dublin. The fly-half, who is tasked with filling the void left by retired number 10 Johnny Sexton, had gone 45 appearances for Munster without touching down.

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He opened his international account within seven minutes of his 11th Test, however, to help the reigning champions back up a crushing opening weekend demolition of pre-tournament favourites France.

Dan Sheehan registered two of Ireland’s five further tries to take his tournament tally to three, while Jack Conan, man of the match James Lowe and Calvin Nash were also on the scoresheet for a team captained by Caelan Doris.

Ireland’s display could certainly have been more ruthless but it was more than enough to dispatch the championship’s perennial wooden spoon winners and secure a 17th successive home win.

Andy Farrell’s men remain on course to become the first side to win back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams ahead of hosting Wales on February 24 and March appointments with England and Scotland.

Italy arrived at a sold-out Aviva Stadium as overwhelming underdogs and seeking a first championship success on Irish soil on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England.

Paolo Garbisi shanked an early penalty to give the Azzurri the lead before Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey released provincial team-mate Crowley to gleefully register a landmark five points.

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The seventh-minute score initially did little to settle the hosts amid a subdued Sunday afternoon atmosphere, which faded fast from eight-year-old Stevie Mulrooney performing a rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call.

Farrell’s starting XV, showing six personnel changes from Marseille, initially looked disjointed as the contest descended into a scrappy affair.

Energetic bursts from Hugo Keenan momentarily lifted the crowd and led to a second score in the 24th minute, with Crowley, Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw ultimately combining to tee up Sheehan.

Blasts of Zombie by the Cranberries – the team’s World Cup anthem – greeted each Ireland try and rang out again three minutes before the break when Conan bulldozed across the line after Joe McCarthy was held up.

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Ireland had the bonus point in the bag within five minutes of the restart as hooker Sheehan, who also crossed against Les Bleus, claimed his second try of the afternoon.

Centre Henshaw was perhaps harshly denied a score due to an adjudged double movement before grounding. But Ireland, who saw full-back Keenan limp off with an apparent leg issue, would not be denied for long.

Impressive Leinster wing Lowe added further gloss to the scoreboard with a powerful 62nd-minute finish, shortly after Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello was sent to the sin bin for illegally stopping him by sticking out a leg.

Following Garbisi’s wayward penalty, outclassed Italy offered little attacking threat and rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Another fruitless trip to the Irish capital was compounded two minutes from time when Munster wing Nash collected Jamison Gibson-Park’s pass to score for the second week in a row, with replacement 10 Harry Byrne slotting the extras to add to two Crowley conversions.

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N
NH 1 hour ago
'The Wallabies need to convert much better - or Melbourne could be much worse'

Nice one as always Brett. I think the stats hide a bit of the dominance the lions had, and they would look alot worse in that first half when the game was more in the balance. You mention it here but I think it hasn’t been talked about enough was the lineout. The few times the wallabies managed to exit their half and get an opportunity to attack in the 1st half, the lineout was lost. This was huge in terms of lions keeping momentum and getting another chance to attack, rather than the wallabies getting their chance and to properly ‘exit’ their half. The other one you touch on re “the will jordan bounce of the ball” - is kick chase/receipt. I thought that the wallabies kicked relatively well (although were beaten in this area - Tom L rubbish penalty kicks for touch!), but our kick receipt and chase wasn’t good enough jorgenson try aside. In the 1st half there was a moment where russell kicked for a 50:22 and potter fumbled it into touch after been caught out of position, lynagh makes a similar kick off 1st phase soon after and keenan is good enough to predict the kick, catch it at his bootlaces and put a kick in. That kick happened to go out on the full but it was a demonstration on the difference in positioning etc. This meant that almost every contested kick that was spilled went the way of the lions, thats no accident, that is a better chase, more urgency, more players in the area. Wallabies need to be better in who fields their kicks getting maxy and wright under most of them and Lynagh under less, and the chase needs to be the responsibility of not just one winger but a whole group of players who pressure not just the catch but the tackle, ruck and following phase.

17 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

Thanks for the further background to player welfare metrics Nick.


Back on the last article I noted that WR is now dedicating a whole section in their six-point business plan to this topic. It also noted that studies indicated 85-90% of workload falls outside of playing. So in respect to your point on the classification of ‘involvements’ included even subs with a low volume of minutes, it actually goes further, to the wider group of players that train as if they’re going to be required to start on the weekend, even if they’re outside the 23. That makes even the 30-35 game borderline pale into insignificance.


No doubt it is won of the main reasons why France has a quota on the number of one clubs players in their International camps, and rotate in other clubs players through the week. The number of ‘invisible’ games against a player suggests the FFRs 25 game limit as more appropriate?


So if we take it at face value that Galthie and the FFR have got it right, only a dozen players from the last 60 international caps should have gone on this tour. More players from the ‘Scotland 23’ than the more recent 23.


The only real pertinent question is what do players prefer more, health or money? There are lots of ethical decisions, like for instance whether France could make a market like Australia’s where their biggest rugby codes have yearly broadcast deals of 360 and 225 million euros. They do it by having a 7/8 month season.

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