Ireland have proved far too strong for Italy, making it two Six Nations bonus point-wins from two with a dominant 36-0 win at the Aviva Stadium that kept their hopes of defending their grand slam title firmly on track.
Andy Farrell made six changes from the team that swept aside France 38-17 a week ago and while it wasn’t perfect, Ireland successfully flexed their squad depth on Sunday (Monday AEDT) and Italy simply could not cope with the host’s big ball carriers and fast-paced attack.
Two tries from Dan Sheehan and one apiece for Jack Crowley, Jack Conan, James Lowe and Calvin Nash put Ireland two points clear of England at the top of the standings and streets ahead of the competition in the form table.
“We’re aware of the threat that Italy’s attack brings, so to keep them to zero is very pleasing,” captain Caelan Doris said after Ireland kept a Six Nations opponent scoreless for the first time since 1987.
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“The temptation sometimes when there are a lot of changes and guys are getting opportunities is to try and impress individually but we spoke about sticking to our systems, making each other look good and I think we did for the most part.”
Ireland’s intent was clear from the get go as they looked to move the ball as quickly as possible, creating gaps through the sheer speed of the phases with five-eighth Crowley crossing over for his first international try on eight minutes.
Ireland had to be patient as Italy found space of their own, just as they had in defeat by England last week.
It was Crowley again with a sublime offload that led to hooker Sheehan scoring his fourth and later fifth try in his last three Six Nations games.
Ireland’s Dan Sheehan. (Photo by Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)
A try from No.8 Conan effectively put the game out of sight at 19-0 at halftime.
He was one of the six players given the chance to impress from the start and he did just that, as did Leinster teammate Ryan Baird in the back-row while Craig Casey had a busy game at halfback.
While Sheehan secured the bonus point on 50 minutes, Ireland did not quite manage to cut loose and had to settle for tries from James Lowe and Calvin Nash, even with Tommaso Menoncello sin-binned, as the benches emptied and the game petered out.
Fullback Hugo Keenan – manning one of the few positions where Ireland lack notable depth – left the field with a bang on his knee in the second half and Farrell said the medical staff would see in the morning if it needs to be looked at.
While Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada conceded there was little his side could do, they were frustrated not to put more pressure on Ireland and avoid a first scoreless outing since a 33-0 defeat by England two years ago.
“We don’t lie to ourselves, we know we have some limits, but the hardest part is when you feel the guys are doing what is supposed to be done in the week and then you cannot prove it a bit more on the pitch,” Quesada said.
He did, however, pay Ireland the ultimate compliment by comparing them to the All Blacks.
“Ireland were a bit like the All Blacks some years ago,” Quesada said.
“They just go through their basics and because their set piece was 100 per cent efficient, they did what we know they can do. When Ireland are at this level, there are not many teams in the world that can beat them.”
Danny McGowan
Roar Rookie
It's a litmus test for how good they are that year surely, not how they are historically.
Ouch
Roar Rookie
i dunno. the Wc is kinda the litmus test for whether a team is good or not.
Danny McGowan
Roar Rookie
That's not the point is it Ouch, because they didn't make it past the QFs doesn't write off team as no good. It was a one off game they lost. When saying they a good team noone is saying they were in past, but they certainly are now. Or are you telling me the present Wallaby team is great because past ones have won WC?
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Women Rugby is looking to do its own path. I am curious if Spain and South Africa would be included in an 8Ns. Why nations like SA and Japan who have money were included in the P4 I will never know. Why SANZAAR won't do women's I also won't understand. I get WR want to grow the Regions but SA are so far ahead of the rest of Africa the women don't get the competition they need.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Expect a change from SA rugby…About 18 months ago Director of Rugby , Erasmus announced that womens rugby is to get nr 1 priority over even development rugby ie. Taking the game to disadvantaged communities ..That surprised me …But yes potential ..phew ! ….A sleeping giant for sure ..
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
https://www.world.rugby/news/35960. 123 countries 9.6m players. 3.5m registered 6.1m non registered. New Zealand 156k registered players, Ireland 94k registered players. Fiji 124k, Oz 271k, USA 131k, Argentina 121k, Kenya 123k, China 113k, Japan 108k. So Ireland is the 12 biggest union in terms of play numbers. Between the two GAA sports and soccer they outnumber rugby players 10:1 I doubt that Union in NZ faces the same ratio. Italy 20 years ago only had about 25k registered players but have now trippled that number, its a growing sport all over Europe unlike the South Pacific where it is starting to retract. Teams win and lose and it doesn't have to be a teams fault if they lose. Do you think SA deserved to win the 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023 WCs and that NZ should not feel more robbed than any other team that had things go against them. Thinking that Ireland should somehow be expected to win a WC or make a final has no baring in reality and if you picked any period in Rugby excluding the last 5-8 years if you picked the top 4 teams in the World Ireland would never have been in that number, in the 90s they would be lucky to make the top 8. By contrast I am not sure that SA or NZ have ever been outside the top 4 so them not making a semi every WC is a bigger shock than Ireland not making it past a quarter. As I said Ireland just got their 4th win in 100 years in France v France. They have beaten SA once in SA and up until 2022 never won in NZ, so they have won 7 games 3 of the 4 teams expected to make a WC semi and which have hosted half the WCs. They closest they came to making a semi was not unspringly in Dublin at home. Teams win and teams lose. But you seem to think only NZ is allowed to justify losses. Would you like to provide reasons why other teams may have failed to win the WC like you did for NZ in 95, 07 (NZ fans always gloss over that the two finalists were in the same group and there is nothing to say NZ would have beaten England in the semi) and 23. Maybe Wales 2011 or SA 2011, France 95, Scotland 2015 etc. Ireland lost in very WC beaten by a better team on the day, yes things didn't go according to plan and their were issues but only one team seems to always rant how they would have won more WCs but were cheated.
HenryHoneyBalls
Roar Rookie
No I would agree that the standard in the six nations has dropped this year and it is difficult to fully gauge how good Ireland is at the moment. However, the six nations post world cup is generally the weakest and despite that generally at least in the last decade anyway it has very much lived up to the hype. Regardless of the lack of quality to test Ireland you simply do not win 19 out of 20 games if you aren't a good side especially when it includes wins against all sides. Also the six nations isnt over yet, England in Twickenham could well provide a very stern test. Ireland's last three games v top ten sides: SA - Ireland three wins in a row. France - Ireland two wins one loss. NZ - Ireland two wins one loss. Wales - Ireland two wins one loss. Scotland - Ireland three wins in a row. Australia - Ireland three wins in a row. Argentina - Ireland three wins in a row. If you want intelligent debate don't make silly comments like: Ireland ….Despite all the hype they cannot collectively hold a candle to SA and NZ right now Comments like this just make you look very silly when you look at the record Ireland has v SA and NZ.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
So are you laying sole claim to intelligent discussion HHB …That kinda sentiment wiĺl paint a big target on your back :happy: …Forget the WC as a measurement of a teams current abilities ..Its done and dusted ….all I am trying to say is has the 2024 Irish team been tested ? ..We need to look past all the 6N pre tournament hype which has been more frantic than I can ever remember ..If I had a dollar for everytime Ive heard …” Greatest tournament in the World ” from be it You Tubers , discussion platforms , Netflix documentaries etc etc then I can retire ….Critical scrutiny so far shows to me at least that the overall standards of the teams and sheer quality of rugby has been average at best ..France look clueless without Du Pont ….England clearly struggling to adapt to Felix Jones defensive patterns ..Scotland good in patches not good at all in others …Ireland playing with great accuracy but are predictable and without Sexton put them in front of a team that can genuinely pressure them then we will find out just how great they are ..That has not yet happened …Until it does I will reserve judgement ..
Scotty P
Roar Rookie
Wow you are tiresome. Who said it wasn’t Cane’s fault? Most of NZ were on his case because he cost us the RWC. There was a lot of criticism of the goal kickers too for missing the kicks. . It still doesn’t negate the fact that by him being red carded, NZ were severely disadvantaged and that had a big bearing on the final result. Any objective person would say that, but you choose to ignore that and only talk about SA’s handicap. . Your player numbers are wrong, plain and simple. I can’t find the WR link but here’s the wiki link which confirms what I am saying. The WR page also reported similar numbers. Ireland and NZ have very similar numbers as shown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rugby_union_playing_countries . Contrary to popular opinion, rugby in NZ in terms of participation comes a distant second to football. Even basketball may have overtaken rugby now. NZ has a couple of million less people than Ireland as Northern Ireland should also be included in the comparison.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
So because Cane got a red card for a tackle that has seen nearly every player get a red card is showing bias. Having poor tackle technique and getting sent off is your own teams fault. Having your hooker injured in foul play is not your teams fault. Missing kicks is your teams fault. By your logic unless you have a perfect game its not your fault. So Ireland who has a similar population to NZ and has rugby is a distant 4th sport in Ireland but magically has as many players as NZ. There are 511,500 registered GAA players in Ireland in 2200 clubs, outside of any urban area of over 5000 people you are unlikely to find a rugby club. There are about 95000 registered rugby players in 209 clubs. There are about 450000 in soccer. Just because certain nations have played a long time does not mean its popular. GAA stadium is about 80+k the rugby one about 50k. Munster played at the 40k gaa stadium in Cork, the rugby ground in the city has obout 8k. Every school in Ireland has a soccer and gaa (both codes) teams while less than 30% have any rugby team. Every country has scouts as does every sport. Only need Google irish professional soccer players to see how many are not in Rugby along to the 32 County teams in both Football and hurling.
Scotty P
Roar Rookie
No you are just so biased and selective with what you write and you expect people to have a civilised conversation with you. The fact that you only highlighted Bongi's injury and not Cane's red card tells me everything that I need to know. In what world are you living in to think Ireland had less registered players than Fiji, Argentina or the USA? The last time I checked their player numbers are comparable to NZ's. NZ's big disadvantage is similar to Australia's, in that a lot of our talented schoolboy players are poached by NRL clubs. In every schoolboy tournament in Auckland you will find a number of NRL scouts on the sidelines.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
No I am pointing out how you justify failures of one country with it being someone else fault but don't apply the same logic to other teams. Sa deserved to win all their WCs but for some reason NZ fans feel NZ were robbed of winning in 95, 07 and 23. Think NZ was robbed in 23 but feel France and England were both sore losers for pointing out poor ref calls that cost points or gave points to the opposition. Ireland haves less players than Fiji, Japan, Argentina and the USA they are doing great to even make a quarter final. I forgot saying anything negative against NZ isn't allowed, can bag Oz and SA no problem but NZ is off limits.
Scotty P
Roar Rookie
They are close to Ireland’s 3 best backs and I would say JGP is definitely your most important backline player. Aki is the best midfield back in the world atm. . Those 3 kiwis would no doubt have improved in NZ as well. That’s the arrogance I am talking about. You think that only the Irish system could have made them better when a country with a track record of excellence for over a 100 years couldn’t? Aki and Lowe were on the ABs radar but had some of the greatest players of all time ahead of them when Ireland came with their checkbooks. JGP matured later but there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t have done the same in NZ. Heard of Frank Bunce? He only represented the ABs in his early 30s, some players become better with age. . U20s results are irrelevant and simply display how much exposure and development is placed at that age. Ireland are case in point, a large number of players from the Irish senior team circa 2017-2023 came from badly performing Irish u20s teams yet the seniors during that period were consistently in the top few teams in the world. NZ’s age grade players aren’t exposed to senior professional rugby anywhere near the same extent as their NH counterparts, especially the French. We also don’t have an u20s 6 Nations type tournament to help prepare us for the u20s WC. Our players typically develop a little bit later.
HenryHoneyBalls
Roar Rookie
Ha you definitely are, you reek of it. Ireland have three Kiwis who were vastly improved by the Irish system. Though to suggest they are Irelands best backs further reveals your obvious rugby ignorance. Id definitely prefer that to a constant stream of naturalised Pacific Island teenagers hoovered up by the ethically questionable uniquely NZ rugby system of handing out rugby scholarships to promising rugby talent. Each to their own I guess. Irelands under 20s also made the under 20s rugby world cup final whereas NZ got 7th place, suggest NZ may continue to slide a bit in coming years, ouch! Watch this space.
Scotty P
Roar Rookie
I think it will be close but I hope I am wrong. I hope SA absolutely smashes them. Can't stand their arrogant team and fans.
Scotty P
Roar Rookie
Nobody is jealous of Ireland lol, trust me. How can we be possibly jealous of a team whose 3 best backs are kiwis. . The irony of an Irish fan accusing others of being arrogant lol. There’s a reason why Ireland are now the most despised team in the world, it’s mainly because of the arrogance displayed by their fans, and to a lesser extent the team as well. You Johnny come latelys have been good for 5 minutes but you wouldn’t know it the way you lot carry on.
Scotty P
Roar Rookie
Sam Cane and poor goalkicking. Conveniently ignored the fact that the ABs played most of the final with 14 to try and win the argument. You are embarrassing yourself NH fan and your hatred of NZ rugby is coming across very clearly.
HenryHoneyBalls
Roar Rookie
These days one of the few things Ireland cant compete with the ABs and some of their fans on is arrogance. You definitely have a monopoly on that based on some of the very silly and frankly immature opinions here. Maybe thats the root of the jealousy and the silly comments?
Scotty P
Roar Rookie
Lol the arrogance of the Irish fans. This idea that Ireland would have won that game if they scored from the maul is so silly, and you have the nerve to accuse others of not bringing intelligence to the conversation. At best Ireland would have been ahead by 3 points with 8 minutes left on the clock. It’s not an insurmountable lead and hardly a guaranteed win. Luckily for Ireland NZ were down to 14, otherwise it wouldn’t even have been close.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
So NZ was robbed, got it. France wasn't robbed I guess even though WR said they were. Scotland would have won 2015 if the blatant wrong ref call hadn't happened v Oz. SA would have won in 2011 if the ref hadn't of robbed them. See how it all works, you can't say NZ are great they were robbed but ignore every other event for every other team. What are your thoughts on France winning the soccer WC at which WC were they considered a good team, do Uraguay whose last win came in 1950 still considered great. We are 10 WCs in, in soccer France, Argentina, nor Spain had won it and only 1 team had made a final in the first year. In 1994 (number 15) France didn't even make the WC but have won 2 and made 2 finals in the last 7.