Italy vs. Ireland: Score and Reaction from 2017 Six Nations Round 2
Ireland secured their first win of the 2017 Six Nations on Saturday, as they hammered Italy 63-10 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Flanker CJ Stander and substitute Craig Gilroy both grabbed hat-tricks, Keith Earls scored a brace and Garry Ringrose also went over in a dominant display from the men in green. Paddy Jackson also impressed with his kicking, converting all nine tries.
Later on Saturday, Wales will take on England in Cardiff, while France host Scotland in Paris on Sunday.
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Having suffered a shock loss to Scotland in their first match of the competition, Ireland were always going to come out firing against Italy. It took them just 12 minutes to get their first score on the board, as Jackson fed Earls for a simple finish, per ITV Rugby:
After Jackson converted, Italy made it 7-3 through Carlo Canna just four minutes later after Ireland conceded a cheap penalty for offside. Nevertheless, the visitors were the dominant force, and even as Italy defended desperately to keep them out, another try was inevitable.
In the 18th minute, brilliant work from Jamie Heaslip set up a flowing passing move that ultimately culminated with Stander going over; another conversion from Jackson left Italy with an early mountain to climb.
Indeed, the hosts were already looking downtrodden, and with a bonus point up for grabs, Ireland were in no mood to take their foot off the gas. On 26 minutes, Earls found space again and grabbed his second of the game, handing Ireland that extra point.
Italy were able to cut the deficit before the break after a penalty try was awarded in their favour; however, the visitors responded immediately from the restart, with Stander spinning off a maul and bundling over the line; at the interval, the visitors had a 28-10 lead.
Despite the advantage, the Harpin’ On Rugby Twitter feed wanted to see more from the men in green:
After the break, any hopes of a comeback for Italy were quickly extinguished and an unlikely hero for the Irish confirmed.
Having scored twice already, Stander was evidently full of confidence when he picked the ball up on the 22-metre line, slaloming away from a couple of challenges and completing his hat-trick. Here’s the moment the flanker rounded off his unlikely treble:
As noted by Will Kelleher of the Daily Mail, it was a try that made Six Nations history:
After another successful conversion from Jackson, the contest descended into a lull, with Italy seeking to keep the scoreline down. Ireland upped the ante again heading into the final stages, though, putting together a devastating spell of rugby.
With 12 minutes left on the clock, Gilroy showed nifty feet to escape his man and finish under the posts. Then, just four minutes later, Ringrose surged forward from 40 yards out, breaking through some jaded Italian tackles for Ireland’s seventh try of the day.
With the clock ticking down, Gilroy scored for a second time after some tired Azzurri defending. The winger then completed a memorable substitute appearance with his third try of the afternoon.
Conversions from Jackson, who was immaculate with his kicking throughout the contest, made the score 63-10 in favour of the away side, as he slotted the extra points on all four late scores.
Ireland will be relieved to have gotten off the mark after their disappointment in Week 1 and performed well throughout here.
Italy kept Wales at bay for long spells last time out and have shown they can be a defensively determined side. So to have blown them away with some stirring attacking play is a big positive for the Irish, especially with three clashes against quality opposition to come in this Six Nations.
Reaction
Per the competition Twitter feed, Heaslip praised how ruthless the team were when scoring opportunities came about:
Afterwards, Ireland boss Joe Schmidt hailed the qualities of Stander, although he encouraged him not to get too carried away.
"He's got a fantastic engine," he said of the flanker, per Raf Diallo of Newstalk. "He just keeps working away and you also saw a few of his other skills of which kicking is not one. His kick did work out for [Gilroy]. But it probably isn't something he's going to pull out of the locker too often."
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