Italy Rugby Succumbs to Ireland

In the second match of the Six Nations championship, Italrugby faced a defeat against Ireland. Following their loss to England on their home ground, this 36-0 defeat at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin was a harsh blow. The match saw the Irish team scoring six tries, maintaining their full points after their significant victory against France in the championship’s opening match. Despite their valiant efforts, including three tries against England in the previous match, Italy couldn’t match up to Ireland, currently considered one of the strongest national teams globally. Among the Italian team, Capuozzo was one of the few who managed to stand out. The team will now be heading to Lille to face France in two weeks.

The game started on a challenging note for the Italian team. Garbisi missed an easy free kick in the fifth minute, and Crowley scored the first try for Ireland in the seventh minute. This was followed by Sheehan’s try, with Crowley successfully converting it. Conan scored the third try after a penalty. In the second half, Ireland further widened the gap with Sheehan’s fourth try, followed by tries from Lowe and Nash.

Coach Gonzalo Quesada expressed his disappointment at the end of the match. He acknowledged that the team’s performance was not up to par, with a passive defense in the first half and several lost possessions in the second half. He regretted the lack of quality ball possession and the mistakes made even without pressure, which led to a loss of confidence. He emphasized the need for the team to understand the level at which they need to perform, taking responsibility for the team’s underperformance.

The scoreboard

Markers: pt 8′ m. Crowley, n.t. (5-0); 24′ m. t. Crowley (12-0); 37′ m. Conan, t. Crowley (19-0). ST 50′ m. Sheehan, n.t. (24-0); 62′ m. Lowe, n.t. (29-0); 78′ m. Nash, t. Byrne (36-0)

IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (57′ Harry Byrne), Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw (64′ Jordan Larmour), Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe, Jack Crowley (58′ Harry Byrne), Craig Casey (73′ Jamison Gibson-Park), Jack Conan, Caelan Doris (C), Ryan Baird (66′ Josh van der Flier), James Ryan, Joe McCarthy (60′ Iain Henderson), Finlay Bealham (57′ Tom O’Toole), Dan Sheehan 57′ Ronan Kelleher), Andrew Porter (57′ Jeremy Loughman) Coach: Farrell
ITALY: Ange Capuozzo, Lorenzo Pani (58′ Federico Mori), Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Stephen Varney (58′ Martin Page-Relo), Michele Lamaro (C), Manuel Zuliani (69′ Ross Vintcent ) Alessandro Izekor, Federico Ruzza (56′ Andrea Zambonin), Niccolo’ Cannone, Pietro Ceccarelli (41′ Giosue’ Zilocchi), Gianmarco Lucchesi (56′ Giacomo Nicotera), Danilo Fischetti (56′ Mirco Spagnolo) Coach: Quesada
REFEREE: Luke Pearce (RFU) CARDS: 58′ Menoncello (ITA) PLAYERS: Garbisi (ITA) 0/1; Crowley (IRE) 3/4 PLAYER OF THE MATCH: James Lowe (IRE) NOTE: dry day, strong wind at times, spectators 82,300.