Ireland vs Italy – Report – Six Nations Championship 2024 – 11 Feb, 2024،
Ireland were far too strong for Italy on Sunday, making it two Six Nations bonus point victories from two with a dominant 36-0 victory at the Aviva Stadium that kept their hopes of firmly defending their Grand Slam title alive.
Andy Farrell made six changes from the team that swept France 38-17 a week ago and while it wasn't perfect, Ireland managed to expand their squad depth and Italy simply couldn't cope with the host's big ball carriers and fast-paced attack.
– Gritty England emerges victorious in the story of two teams in transition
Two tries from Dan Sheehan and one each for Jack Crowley, Jack Conan, James Lowe and Calvin Nash put Ireland two points behind England at the top of the table and streets ahead of the competition in the standings.
“Our set piece was phenomenal again, it's easy when you have platforms like that… I'm happy with the result but obviously a few things to work on for the future,” said player of the match Lowe in a pitchside interview.
Ireland's intention was clear from the start as they looked to move the ball as quickly as possible, creating gaps through the speed of phases with flyhalf Crowley crossing for his first international try in eight minutes.
Crowley was by no means perfect against France as he looks to take over what was Johnny Sexton's spot, but he looked extremely comfortable with the ball in hand early on, even if he almost gifted Italy a return to the match with a loose kick.
Ireland had to be patient as Italy found their own space, just as they did in the defeat to England last week. It was Crowley again with a sublime offload which allowed hooker Sheehan to score his fourth, then his fifth try in his last three Six Nations matches.
As much as they put the Italians to the test, the hosts were disjointed at times and conceded as many penalties as the Italians in the first half. Yet a try from number eight Conan effectively put the game out of sight at 19-0 at half-time.
Conan was one of six players given the chance to impress early on and he did just that, as did Leinster teammate Ryan Baird in the back row while Craig Casey had a busy game at scrum half.
Elsewhere in a dominant field, Parisian player of the match Joe McCarthy was sometimes immense in attack and defense again during his seventh selection.
While Sheehan got the bonus point in the 50th minute, Ireland couldn't really break loose and had to make do with tries from James Lowe and Calvin Nash, even with Tommaso Menoncello sin-binned, while the benches emptied and the match stopped.
At the same time, Italy never threatened the Irish line in the second half.
The sight of full-back Hugo Keenan cautiously leaving the field in the second half – one of the few positions where Ireland lack notable depth – will be the one big concern as Ireland prepare to face Wales in two weeks.
