Ireland 39 Italy 12
Ireland were flattered by the final score-line, four second half tries distorting what had been for three quarters of the match a performance dogged by inaccuracy and mistakes. The victory, a third in as many games, means that this young Irish side are firmly in control at the top of the Under-20 Six Nations Championship with their next assignment a trip to Saracens' home ground in a fortnight.
The work of the Irish pack individually and collectively underpinned the win, James Culhane once again a deserved man of the match while secondrows Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Mark Morrissey also had huge games. Jude Postlethwaite, Chay Mullins, Fionn Gibbons and Patrick Campbell were central to their team’s more coherent moments in attack.
The first half was a curious affair from an Irish perspective, the home side utterly dominant with 65 percent possession, creating several excellent try scoring opportunities but taking just one, perhaps the most damning indictment, statistically.
There was rampant carelessness to most of what Ireland offered in the opening 40 minutes, undermined by poor line-kicking and box-kicking, handling errors by the hatful and a lack of application at the breakdown.
Game management
The running lines were lateral, the passing unsympathetic and the game management wasn’t good. There were occasional flashes of some cracking rugby to supplement a superb maul, generally with the Irish forwards carrying directly and excellent evasive running from fullback Campbell, centre Postlethwaite and wings Mullins and his team’s first half try scorer, Gibbons.
The Italians were hugely ill-disciplined, conceding 10 penalties and losing two players, flanker David Odiase and number eight Giacomo Ferrari to the sin bin; the colour of the cards decided by television match official Ben Whitehouse rather than referee Aled Evans. Yet the visitors, who were hard done by on a couple of occasions with the officiating, only trailed 13-7 at the interval.
Despite being a man down, they forced a scrum penalty in first half injury time and some poor Irish tackling allowed Italian prop Luca Rizzoli to power his way through several defenders and over the Irish line. Outhalf Niccolo Teneggi kicked the conversion.
It was scarcely credible that Ireland led by just six points at the interval. Gibbons’ try was the product of a fluent Irish counterattack inspired by Campbell’s footwork and ability to pirouette out of tackles. Charlie Tector kicked the conversions and two penalties.
Enterprising rugby
Italy ran down the clock superbly on the re-start until their captain Ferrari returned. The home side’s capacity to create problems for themselves continued; a silly penalty here, poor breakdown work there.
And then on 56 minutes Ireland managed to deliver emphatically on some enterprising rugby, Tector kicking to the corner and after several carries around the fringes that were thwarted Matthew Devine spied a millimetre of space and dotted down; it was a sharp finish.
For the third time in the match the Italians were reduced to 14 players, hooker Lapo Frangini guilty of bringing down the maul illegally in the build-up to the try. Ireland took advantage, four minutes later replacement Lorcan McLoughlin, excellent upon his introduction barged over. Those five minutes were more representative of the quality that this young Irish team possesses.
Freed from the constraint of mistakes and with the Italians tiring, the home side secured their bonus point try through the outstanding number eight James Culhane and then tagged on a fifth when Mullins demonstrated his prowess in attack on foot of a slaloming run. Tony Butler kicked both conversions.
Four tries in a 14-minute period make a mockery of Ireland’s struggles in the first half, the home side were a little more accurate and composed in the second half. The Italians had the final say with a try from replacement hooker Tomasso Scramoncin.
Ireland now head for London to see if they can make it four wins in succession, relieved that they managed to find a way to overcome a scratchy performance and still manage to win.
Scoring sequence - 16 mins: Gibbons try, Tector conversion, 7-0; 24 mins: Tector penalty, 10-0; 29 mins: Tector penalty, 13-0; 40(+2) mins: Rizzoli try, Teneggi conversion, 13-7. Half-time: 13-7. 56 mins: Devine try, Tector conversion, 20-7; 60 mins: McLoughlin try, 25-7; 70 mins: Culhane try, Butler conversion, 32-7; 74 mins: Mullins try, Butler conversion, 39-7; 78 mins: Scramoncin try, 39-12.
Ireland Under-20: P Campbell (Young Munster); C Mullins (Bristol Bears), J Postlethwaite (Banbridge), B Brownlee (UCD), F Gibbons (UCD); C Tector (Lansdowne ), M Devine (Galway Corinthians); J Boyle (UCD), J McCormick (Ballymena), R McGuire (UCD); C O'Tighearnaigh (UCD), M Morrissey (UCD); J McNabney (Ballymena), R Crothers (Ballynahinch, capt), J Culhane (UCD).
Replacements: D O’Grady (UCD) for Brownlee half-time; L McLoughlin (QUB) for McNabney 51 mins; D McSweeney (Shannon) for McGuire 59 mins; J Hanlon (Ballynahinch) for McCormick 67 mins; E Coughlan (Shannon) for Devine 67 mins; O Michel (Lansdowne) for Boyle 68 mins; T Butler (Garryowen) 68 mis; A McNamee (Malone) for Tighearnaigh 70 mins.
Yellow card: L McLoughlin 78 mins.
Italy Under-20: L Pani; F Cuminetti, F Carlo Mey, D Passarella, F Lazzarin; N Teneggi, A Garbisi; L Rizzoli, L Frangini, R Genovese; A Ortombina, R Andreoli; D Odiase, RM Vintcent, G Ferrari (capt).
Replacements: G Cenedese for Vintcent (HIA) 36 mins and 45 mins; T Scramoncin for Ferrari 59-67 mins; G Sante for Teneggi 62 mins; A Fusari for Carlo Mey 62 mins; C Berlese for Odiase 68 mins; G Tomaselli for Garbisi 70 mins; V Bizzoto for Rizzoli 69 mins; R Bartolini for for Genovese 76 mins.
Yellow cards: D Odiade 17 mins; G Ferrari 35 mins; L Frangini 56 mins.
Referee: Aled Evans (Wales)
