Italy 10 Ireland 48: Ireland player ratings

Johnny Watterson hands out the marks after Ireland’s first win of this year’s Six Nations

Will Connors scores a try during against Italy at the Olympic stadium in Rome. Photograph: Getty Images

15 - Hugo Keenan

Ran a great line to take up Garry Ringrose offload to score his third try against Italy. As ever always on shoulders looking for forward ball and making it look simple. Rating: 8

14 - Jordan Larmour

Did excellent work to get hands free between two Italian players for Will Connors' try but soft defence for Meyer's score at halftime. Rating: 6

13- Garry Ringrose

Well taken try using his pace and strength to power between two Italian players. Was always probing especially in the pre bonus point phases of the game. Rating: 8

12 - Robbie Henshaw

Excellent work rate in defence and willing to take the ball on in heavy traffic. Nothing extravagant from the centre but central to getting Ireland forward and settled. Rating: 8

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11 - James Lowe

Almost clean away early on but a quiet first half. Always looking for action in field but it never quite came until Craig Casey's forward pass late in the second half. Rating: 6

10 - Johnny Sexton

Kept pressure on the scoreboard from the beginning with five from five in the first half. He mixed his game up well with tackling and taking on the ball. Controlled well. Rating: 8

9 - Jamison Gibson Park

He kept a high tempo going and box kicked well in the first half. He was also willing to snipe with two of his efforts almost paying off. Always kept Italy honest. Rating: 7

1 - David Kilcoyne

Did well gaining hard yards before Connors' try. Super aggressive in contact and took on a heavy workload and 13 tackles until replaced after half time. Rating: 7

2 - Rónan Kelleher

Lineout throwing was good and found Henshaw at the back of the line early on. Work rate around the park high. Strong body position at the breakdown. Rating: 7

3 - Tadhg Furlong

Very active in defence and in ball carrying. Almost in just before Stander scored. Back to his dynamic all round best and he had all his work done before the bonus point try. Rating: 8

4 - Iain Henderson

Good leading and he almost got in for an early try. His aggression and impact effects other players as did his work rate in defence - especially first half - when Italy had ball. Rating: 7

5 - James Ryan

A lot of his work went unseen but Ryan was always in the thick of it and took ball on when he had the opportunity. Not as high profile as he can be but he made 19 tackles. Rating: 8

6 - Tadhg Beirne 8

Won man of the match for being a menace throughout the match. With 10 tackles and five carries put himself in the game especially the minutes working towards the bonus. Rating: 8

7 - Will Connors

His low tackling to stop Negri and mobility around the pitch was excellent. On Larmour's shoulder for the first try and good decision making for his second. A fine game. Rating: 9

8 - CJ Stander

He ripped a couple of balls and got turnover possession. Always willing to take on hard yards. Off loading not on view but he took his try well and put in 10 tackles. Rating: 7

Replacements

Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Andrew Porter, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Craig Casey, Billy Burns and Keith Earls all came on. Earls took his try well at the end of the match with a crisp catch and acceleration. But overall the bench did not impact as they would have wanted, some of the time late in the game against a 13 man Italian side. Rating: 5

Head coach - Andy Farrell

The team scored six tries and won with a bonus point. That was the aim. There was evidence of more offloading and better tempo. But a sloppy end to the match - despite Earls late try - was the negative. Rating: 8

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times