MUCH LIKE THE devil, Italy thrive on chaos.
Ireland’s job today was to keep it clean and simple, let talent be the deciding factor.
The final winning margin of 36-6 was fully deserved, as they not only secured a quarter final spot, but put in the most clinical performance of the season by any European side.
Where the win over Australia was all emotion and desire, this one was mean and focused and professional, a thorough annihilation of a decent Italian side.
The opening exchanges were messy, Sean O’Brien and Quintin Geldenhuys knocking on when under no pressure, and Tommy Bowe throwing a no-look pass that was never on, but Ireland always looked the more threatening in open play, changing the point of attack at every opportunity, forwards and backs interlinking well throughout.
It didn’t lead to any tries for the first 40 minutes, three O’Gara penalties giving them a 9-6 lead going into the break, but the blueprint for success was there.
There was a different level of intent in the second period, however, O’Brien and Ferris going from snarl to roar, both carrying three times in the first five minutes, blasting through inside shoulders every time. Italy were bruised and pulpy, ripe for squashing . A smart outside arc by Tommy Bowe, followed by a simple but brilliant inside pass to the supporting O’Driscoll did the damage, opening it out to a 19-6 lead after 47 minutes.
That ignited Ireland’s best period of the game, Darcy, O’Brien and O’Connell gaining ground at will, and as the Italian defence began to wilt Ferris again showed there’s brains to go with all that brawn, neatly putting Keith Earls in for what was effectively the deciding score.
Things got scrappy for a period after that as scrums collapsed and the Italians got tetchy, but the final bell saw Andrew Trimble show great composure in tight space to put Earls over for his second of the night, sending a huge Irish crowd into raptures.
If Ireland are to go beyond the quarters, they will need to play well for longer periods, but there was an encouraging collective understanding of where the space was and who to put into that space. The Italians had plenty of possession and grunt, but the guile only came from one quarter, and the stand-out performers all wore green.
O’Gara missed only one kick at goal, Murray made two breaks and passed well, Bowe and Earls were sharp as tacks, and the pack once again showed they have the fire and ice required at this level.
This was more than a win, it was cold-hearted destruction, deliberate and tough, and it has sent a message out to the rest of the teams in the tournament – Ireland are here to play.
they were brilliant! well done lads
What a great result, O’ Brien again, legend!
Keith earls birthday and he gives us the presents! Well done lads! On another note: we are normally terrified to complain about referees when we lose in case we are accused of sour grapes, but is it fair enough to complain when we win by 30 points? Kaplan is a disaster for Ireland and it’s not the first time. What is that man’s problem with ireland. Despite gouging and everything he still managed to try his best to become the 16th player on the Italian team. A position he attempts to get no matter who Ireland are playing!
The TMO was surely worse! He explicitly said that there was no foul play in Tommy Bowe’s second nearly-try. Even Kaplan was puzzled by the decision. You could clearly see Bowe being illegally tackled when he tried to touch the ball down, preventing the grounding. A disgraceful decision by the video ref.
No foul play "in the in goal area", which is where the TMO has authority. By phrasing it like that he was practically telling Kaplan that foul play had occurred just before the line. The TMO has limited powers, so he was restricted in what he could give.
Dare we dream. Sure why not
Awesome! Everything is starting to click into place. This team is on a mission….and it’s not impossible. Proud to be from the island of Ireland.
THEY’RE here to play…?
Do you play for Ireland?
It was originally Speke as "their".
*spelt. Damn iPhone autocorrect.
Ha ha you corrected someone else’s spelling then you spelt a word wrong! Embarrassing………Are you embarrassed?
Ross definitely De Boss !
Any team, any time!
Surely now are unstoppable, the team work and hard training put in by the Irish team will pay dividends when we win the finals of this enthralling world series!
You’re right there, Derek. His momentum was affected
Good stuff!!
Can we dream of a final with England.The way were playing it would be one hell of a game.Well done lads,you’ve done us proud..
You can dream of a semi-final with England! They’re in the other quarter final on our side.
We can certainly dream of a final against NZ and maybe justice for O’Driscoll. How sweet would that be?
Castrogiovanni was hit hard several times early on by O’Brien and Ferris. Might this have been have been preempted in an attempt to take him out (legally) and disrupt the much talked about Italian scrum?
Karl, Castro had plenty of the ball in the loose. Hence he got tackled, nature of the game
Much in all as I hate to say it it was the right call for bow’s nearly try. As a referee myself I watch it serval times with the help of sky . While the TMO phrased his response wrong twice and kaplin looking a bit bewildered with the response, bow had started to go down before he was touched and the italian helped him down but did not cause him to go off his natural course of the dive/ fall.
Surely his momentum in the dive was hampered by the tackle even if he was already going to ground?
He was body checked on the approach to the try line, which I know body checking is allowed, but this forced him to dive early. The tackle on the dive in combination with the earlier body check amounted to illegal play. Neither event was a penalty try foul in isolation, but together…………..