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It's a hit! Ireland's win over Italy was a ratings winner

Hooky, Popey and the rest on RTÉ Two pull in big audience for final group game despite early kick-off.

ACCORDING TO FIGURES released by the national broadcaster today, over three quarters of a million viewers tuned in to watch Ireland’s win on RTÉ Two yesterday morning.

Declan Kidney’s side beat Italy 36-6 in Dunedin to ensure they progress to the quarter-finals stage as group winners.

An average audience of 735,000 watched the game on RTÉ with viewership peaking at 918,000 in the final minutes.

The station’s coverage – hosted by presenter Tom McGurk – drew in an average of 630,000  rugby fans over the course of the three-hour broadcast.

Ireland’s showdown with Wales will be shown on the channel this Saturday (6am).

And us? Well, since you ask, a few thousand of you joined TheScore for our minute-by-minute coverage of the game and the post-whistle reaction too.

We’ll continue to liveblog every game until the tournament’s end. It’s just what we do – no biggie.

Sky’s the limit: Ireland up to fifth in world rankings

Poll: how far do you think Ireland will now go at the Rugby World Cup?

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