Following his much publicised boo-boo last week, Nick Mallet scrabbled around in the Italian broom-cupboard and brought out a bewhiskered, semi-retired New Zealander to take charge of the number 9 jersey.
It obviously had the right effect.
Ireland must have been in shock when they caught sight of Paul Griffen sporting the biggest pair of sideburns since Elvis definitely left the building somewhere in the mid-seventies. It felt like the right era as they stumbled and stuttered their way into this match.
And they committed errors left, right and centre to hand two kickable penalties to Italy and give them a deserved lead.
It’s not as if Ireland didn’t have a good starting chance when Rob Kearney was subjected to one of the most blatant clothesline tackles seen in the competition for some time. The Italian, Andrea Masi, was lucky only to get a yellow card.
However, despite having the man advantage, Ireland couldn’t make it count.
Eventually normal service seemed to resume when they got over for the first of their tries to lead 7-6. Tommy Bowe took an intercept in his 22 and ran the full length of the pitch, pursued hotly by three Italians.
Then they promptly handed the initiative back to the Italians with another penalty kick to make it 9-7. You could hear teeth start to grind around the pubs and living rooms across the Republic.
O’Gara managed to late tackle Canale and went to the bin for his trouble. A quickly rearranged back-line brought Stringer on at 9, with O’Leary sifting to 10 temporarily.
Perugini followed O’Gara into the bin 5 minutes later and Ireland started to exert some pressure.
They got three penalties in quick succession in the Italian 22. O’Driscoll kicked into touch each time to force the issue.
Luckily, just as the half-time whistle was about to blow, they got a move going with O’Leary feeding Ferris peeling off the scrum who quickly fed Fitzgerald coming through on a burst and he went over the line.
Ireland went in 14-9 ahead at the break – just about deserving it.
The second half may have had less yellow card incidents, but boy, was it was difficult to watch, with Chris White probably deserving a man of the match award for his influence on the game.
It seemed the whistle blew every second or third phase because of lack of discipline, errors and the Italians mind-numbing ability to slow down the ball and hide it in a ruck.
But there were some lovely breaks.
Jamie Heaslip went on another run after being fed by O’Driscoll, and was hauled down just inches from the line. Then David Wallace made pressure pay within the first few minutes and got over the line. O’Gara added the conversion to make it 21-9.
The match wore on and on and on and on.
The Italians got themselves one break to take it into the Irish 22. It happened once, despite having the majority of the possession for over 20 minutes. Ireland couldn’t break out of the stranglehold and contributed to the direness of the proceedings.
Eventually on 75 minutes, after a move across the pitch, Fitzgerald took off for the try line and got through for his second of the match.
He was followed some minutes later by O’Driscoll, on an intercept to run 60 odd metres down the pitch and touch down under the posts.
It finished 38-9, with Ireland comfortably the winners. There was nothing much to be gained from it, except scores on the For column in the table and another two points to put them top of the 6 Nations for the next fortnight.
Ireland didn’t move on much in terms of momentum and performance. England will give them a much tougher examination on Saturday week in Croke Park.
Wales are still the favourites, in my view, to take the crown on the evidence of this week’s matches.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
On Monday 29th April, at the Rugby Australia 2024 AGM, the Voting Members of Rugby Australia endorsed the proposed two new Directors and two…
It’s not just the 2024 campaign that has raised serious questions about the Waratahs, but their 2023 Super Rugby season too. Having limped into…
Australian Rugby is caught in a difficult situation regarding player retention, club finances and player development. Clubs like the Waratahs, Brumbies and of course,…
The Queensland Reds are charging towards the Super Rugby season, but their hopes of claiming their second title – and first since 2014 –…
Sam Cane has stood down as All Blacks captain and might have played his final Test after signing a new three-year deal with Suntory.…
The Saints ran in 14 unanswered tries in the Gallagher Premiership clash, which they won 90-nil.
