Six Nations Review - Italy 22 - 15 Ireland

Some of the most confusing “life rules” around are the ones that surround first impressions.  It’s completely hypocritical.  On one hand, you’re told that a first impression is key, especially in the business world, as to whether or not you’re going to get along with someone – and that you have just 7 seconds to make that first impression – whilst on the other hand we are also informed that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.  This isn’t just a motto for the less-aesthetically pleasing, but also a way of saying that your first impression can be wrong, which sort of brings up the question – why are first impressions important anyway, if they’re not always accurate?

They’ve certainly been a bit off the mark of late in the Six Nations – especially in the cases of Italy and Ireland.  A lot was made of Italy’s glorious opening win against France, before they succumbed to meek losses against Scotland and Wales, whilst Ireland managed to banish the memory of an imperious first half display against the Welsh in Cardiff by turning in a trio of poor performances to grab only a draw from their last 3 games.  So both had led us to believe that they might be in for a decent showing this Championship – but unfortunately, it was a case of flattering to deceive.  Meaning that, whilst this game was technically a dead rubber, there was a hell of a lot of pride on the line, with both sides able to ‘rescue’ their seasons with a win in Rome.

A lot of the pre-match talk had been focused on the fact that this may (or may not be) O’Driscoll’s last game in the green of Ireland, but in Italy the focus had been on someone slightly more underrated.  Andrea Lo Cicero, who’d endured a difficult tournament, was to retire from the Azzurri after winning a record 103 caps for his country, and it was the Italian loosehead, rather than the Irish outside centre, who would steal the limelight on Saturday.

From kick off, it was obvious this was the Italian team who had fought tooth and nail against France and England, rather than the side that softly surrendered to Scotland and Wales, with the Azzurri pack charging into the visitors, clearly with the intent of bullying them off the park – although a little too eagerly at first, which gave young fly half Paddy Jackson the chance to knock over a penalty to give the Irish an early lead.  It didn’t last long though, as momentum firmly swung in the hosts direction, with the hard tackling Simone Favaro causing turnovers in possession and Alessandro Zanni making big indents on the carry.  The pressure yielded 3 penalty shots at goal, 2 of which fly half Luciano Orquera converted, before the Irish luck to a definite turn for the worst.  With centre Luke Marshall taking a bang to the head and Keith Earls suffering a shoulder injury, the Irish backline was already low on resources when the legendary O’Driscoll introduced the sole of his boot to Favaro’s ribcage in a needless stamp that saw him rightfully shown a yellow card.  It was an utterly stupid mistake to make – right in front of the linesman and in no way helpful to speeding up play – and completely against the grain for a player we’ve come to expect the best from.

In what would become a rare positive for Ireland, Italy couldn’t make the extra man count, with sterling defensive work from Sean O’Brien and Peter O’Mahony limiting the hosts to a single penalty goal, nailed from long range by Gonzalo Garcia, whilst the Irish were down to 14.  Of course, this slice of fortune was immediately reversed by another injury, this time to substitute Luke Fitzgerald, meaning Iain Henderson came on at flanker with O’Mahony taking Fitzgerald’s place on the wing.  Despite the slightly unusual backline (although these days, O’Mahony wouldn’t be out of place on the wing size-wise), Ireland did grind out another penalty for Jackson to convert, meaning they were only 9 – 6 down at the break – even though they must have felt they were in serious trouble.

Italy came out full of beans once again after the interval, and with Parisse leading from the fore, proceeded to hammer the Irish line once again.  A huge lineout drive, which had gotten Italy close in the first half, took them to within 5 metres before the ball was shipped right, and big winger Giovanbattista Venditti managed to burrow his way over from short range.  Orquera converted, and suddenly there was daylight between the 2 sides.  But this is Italy.  If there’s a way of ruining a promising situation, they’ll find it – and so they did, with captain Parisse being shown a yellow card for an alleged trip on Ian Madigan.  With the Italian skipper of the pitch, the Irish pack got a foothold for the first time in the game, with Jamie Heaslip finally making some significant indentations on the carry.  Paddy Jackson showed remarkable nerve considering the pressure that’s been heaped on him by nailing 3 penalties to claw the Irish back to within a point.  Momentum finally seemed to be in the Irish’s favour, but Donnacha O’Ryan and Connor Murray were both shown yellow cards in the last 15 minutes, meaning that the Irish entered and finished the key stage of the game a man short.  Orquera took advantage of these two misdemeanours to knock over two penalties to make the game safe, and kick-start wild celebrations at the final whistle as Italy celebrated their second win of the tournament – a feat they’ve only achieved once (in 2007) since they joined the Championship.

Lo Cicero and the gang have left on a high – leaving a good impression on the tournament and ensuring their first win won’t be regarded as a fluke.  And I’m sure the Azzurri will argue, the last impression is far more important than the first.

 

Italy Player Ratings

Andrea Masi – 8 – Another powerful performance from Italy’s outstanding back.  Runs with real venom and always takes the right option.

Giovanbattista Venditti – 7 – Powerful finish from the big winger who loves getting involved in the tough stuff.  If he refines his positioning he could be some player.
Gonzalo Canale – 5 – Strong running as always and a solid defensive presence, but loses a mark for the ludicrous dive to the tap to the face he received.  This is creeping worryingly into the game and needs to get knocked on the head.
Gonzalo Garcia – 7 – An absolute rock in defence, arrowing himself at ankles to bring big runners down.  Huge boot as well got Italy a critical 3 points in the 1^st half.
Luke McLean – 6 – A reliable performance once again, where he makes very few mistakes and is a solid presence without setting the world alight
Luciano Orquera – 8 – Great to see him finish on a high.  Goal kicking was generally very good and has been a key reason behind Italy’s resurgence as an attacking team.
Edoardo Gori – 7 – Much better performance from the talented 9.  Has not enjoyed the best of tournaments but made a couple of telling breaks on Saturday.
Sergio Parisse – 8 – Captain fantastic once again, a couple of gorgeous flicks and powerful carries had the crowd on its feet.  Loses a mark for the sin binning though.
Simone Favaro – 8 – I really rate this lad.  Smashes players in the tackle and is an absolute workaholic around the pitch.  Useful over the ball as well.
Alessandro Zanni – 9 – A monster performance from the flanker.  Charged all over the pitch disrupting Ireland ball and snaffled a couple of turnovers too.  Man of the match.
Joshua Furno – 7 – Strong performance in the lineout and on the carry, where he was always looking to get involved.
Quintin Geldenhuys – 7 – The big second row put in a massive shift and got about the park well, tackling himself to a standstill and carrying with real aggression.
Leonardo Cittadini – 7 – Standing in for Castrogiovanni is hard, but he did a great job.  Just about shaded his battle with Cian Healy.
Leonardo Ghiraldini – 9 – A real contender for man of the match.  Incredibly mobile and aggressive, and was reliable in the set piece.  Fantastic performance.
Andrea Lo Cicero – 8 – What a way to go out.  Had Mike Ross on toast in the scrum and even had the crowd on their feet at one point with a strong charge into the heart of the Irish defence.

Subs Used:

Davide Giazzon – Not enough time to make an impact
Michele Rizzo – Not enough time to make an impact
Alberto De Marchi – Not enough time to make an impact
Antonio Pavanello – Not enough time to make an impact
Francesco Minto – 7 – Added stability to a pack that was just starting to look like it might be wobbling.
Paul Derbyshire – 7- Added impetus exactly when it was needed and provided an experienced head at a critical time.
Tobias Botes – Not enough time to make an impact
Tommaso Benvenuti – Not enough time to make an impact

 

Ireland Player Ratings

Rob Kearney – 6 – Completed a quiet 6 Nations by his standards by being solid without being spectacular.  Hasn’t really had a line to hit all 6 Nations.
Craig Gilroy – 6 – Has proven himself to be a handy test match winger.  Saw very little ball but was aggressive in defence and keen to get involved where possible.
Brian O'Driscoll – 5 – I really hope he doesn’t retire now, because he shouldn’t go out like this.  A brainless yellow card didn’t help a fairly anonymous performance from the Irish legend.
Luke Marshall – 5 – Didn’t really have a chance to get into the game before he was injured, but can be proud of his contribution this tournament.
Keith Earls – 5 – Like Marshall, didn’t really get a chance to show what he could do before injury forced him to leave the field.
Paddy Jackson – 7 – He grows every game.  Wonderful nerves for his place kicking, we just need to see a bit more spark with the ball in hand now.
Conor Murray – 7 – Another who has improved every game this tournament.  A shame about his late sinbinning, but he had looked sharp before that with a couple of clever breaks.
Jamie Heaslip – 7 – His best performance of the championship, finally making yards on the carry and trying to lift his side.  Too little, too late though.
Sean O'Brien – 6 – A quiet day for the Leinster juggernaught.  Hasn’t really managed to show off his power game to its full effect this Six Nations.
Peter O'Mahoney – 6 – Ended up doing a sterling shift on the wing, which was a shame because he had been prominent in the first half at flanker.
Donnacha Ryan – 5 – Not his finest hour.  The sinbinning came at a critical time and he wasn’t at his disruptive best in the loose.
Mike McCarthy – 8 – Ireland’s best player.  Wasn’t helped by Best’s throwing in the lineout, but made up for this elsewhere with a colossal defensive effort and some huge carries.
Mike Ross – 4 – Dominated in the scrum and once again, doesn’t seem to offer anything else in particular around the park.
Rory Best – 4 – A really poor day at the office.  Lineout became an absolute lottery and fell off tackles more than usual as well.
Cian Healy – 6 – Problems were mainly on the other side of the scrum and carried pretty well when he got the chance.

Subs used:

Sean Cronin– Not enough time to make an impact

David Kilcoyne – Not enough time to make an impact
Stephen Archer – Not enough time to make an impact
Devin Toner – Not enough time to make an impact
Iain Henderson – 7 – Impressive showing from the youngster, showing good strength with the ball in hand on several occasions.
Paul Marshall – Not enough time to make an impact
Luke Fitzgerald – Not enough time to make an impact
Ian Madigan – 6 – The highly rated fly half did a solid job in the centres but we didn’t get to see any fireworks.