ITALY
15. Andrea Masi: 5.5
Handy in attack but his defence was slightly suspect. Can’t help that he’s mainly played at centre for Wasps this season.
14. Leonardo Sarto: 6
Looked good with ball in hand but it just didn’t get to him often enough. Plenty of promise though.
13. Michele Campagnaro: 5.5
Came close to an intercept that would have made the game a lot closer but that was pretty much all he could conjure up in attack.
12. Luca Morisi: 5.5
Partly at fault for the O’Donnell try but his defence had been solid up until that point.
11. Luke McLean: 6
A winger who did get his hands on the ball a lot and made hard yards when he did. Gave away a silly penalty for three points though.
10. Kelly Haimona: 4.5
Looked out of sorts and out of ideas when it came to attack. Got run over a fair few times.
9. Edoardo Gori: 6
Tackled well for a nine and gave fairly good service to Haimona throughout.
1. Matias Aguero: 5
Struggled in the scrum and gave away a couple of penalties. Industrious in defence though.
2. Leonardo Ghiraldini: 5
Ireland would have broken through regardless of his sin-binning but he will be turned into the scapegoat. Defended well.
3. Martin Castrogiovanni: 6
Another front row who made a huge number of tackles and a couple of big carries too.
4. George Biagi: 5
Looked a bit out of his depth and could have done with a more experienced lock partner to help him. Tackled well though.
5. Joshua Furno: 6
Struggled to impose himself in attack but made more tackles than most. The main man in the lineout.
6. Alessandro Zanni: 5
Didn’t carry as much as he should have but he disrupted the breakdown at times.
7. Francesco Minto: 6.5
Made a large number of tackles and also slowed Ireland down when it came to the breakdown.
8. Sergio Parisse: 6.5
As usual, he was Italy’s main man and his attacking stats are better than pretty much anyone else in his team.
Replacements: 5
Marco Barbini and Tommaso Allan looked handy when they came on but could not stop the Ireland onslaught. Andrea Mancini, Alberto de Marchi and Dario Chistolini were solid in the scrums and Marco Fuser and Giovanbattista Venditti did very little.
IRELAND
15. Rob Kearney: 6.5
Had limited chances to attack and when he did he struggled to truly threaten. Boot looked good, though, and he defended well on the rare occasions that he was called upon.
14. Tommy Bowe: 6
Looked hard for the ball but he very rarely received it. Ireland need to start involving him more.
13. Jared Payne: 6
Poor in the first half but better in the second when the game broke down. He’s better with space ahead of him rather than direct running.
12. Robbie Henshaw: 6
Had a similar game to Payne but will need to cut out the costly errors against France. Knocked on twice with tries virtually guaranteed.
11. Simon Zebo: 5
He never really got himself into the game, and needs to do so more, with the amount of talent that is challenging him for a wing spot.
10. Ian Keatley: 8
Kicking both off the tee and out of hand was faultless and he stood his own in defence. Did the basics well which was all that was required of him.
9. Conor Murray: 8
Showed no signs of his recently injury as he gave Keatley good ball, bossed his forwards well, and scored a simple try.
1. Jack McGrath: 6.5
Had a tough time against Castro in the scrum but he was as industrious as ever in the loose.
2. Rory Best: 5.5
Subbed early in the second half as he contributed very little in the loose. Throwing in was ok but nothing special.
3. Mike Ross: 7
Repaid Joe Schmidt’s faith in him with a solid display. Dependable in the scrum and will keep his place, maybe for the whole tournament.
4. Devin Toner: 7.5
Looked hungry for the ball, carried often enough and defended well. He’d be brilliant if he put on some bulk.
5. Paul O’Connell: 7
Not his best game but he was solid in defence and his usual mountainous self in the lineout.
6. Peter O’Mahony: 7.5
Got himself around the park and didn’t stop trying all afternoon. Carried well when called upon.
7. Tommy O’Donnell: 7.5
Thrown into the fray at the last minute but looked every inch at home and as Sean O’Brien’s replacement. Superbly taken try.
8. Jordi Murphy: 6.5
Numerous strong carries. He’s no Jamie Heaslip but he’s a good enough stand-in.
Replacements: 6
Sean Cronin, Marty Moore and James Cronin were ok in the front row when they came on. None of the back replacements could really add the requisite spark to proceedings, but all will be in the mix for next week.
By Calum Gillon (@C_Gillon)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
7 replies on “Six Nations 2015: Italy vs Ireland Player Ratings”
you must have been watching a different match
Explain…?
The jury is still out on this irish team and managment even after the highs of the last 12 months. I am still not sure about schmidt tbh a bit to much like the eddie o sullivan era for my liking right now . All our game plans seem to be based on safety first and i feel that the flair players are being overlooked and this could cause a lot of problems if it continues and this approach may even cost us in the w c later in the year. The o sullivan era was blighted by poor selections bad game plans and a lack of ambition and also some shameful treatment of certain players and alas i see the same thing developing under schmidt . When ireland won the grand slam in 09 under kidney we played some great rugby and scored a lot of tries over the 5 matches but i just don’t see that kind of expansive game at all right now. Am i alone in this view or do other rugby folk in ireland agree with me ? .
I am inclined to agree with you, Johne. I worry about the fact that Ireland’s game plan is constructed in response to the opposition. We seem to have no game plan of our own which the opposition would have to respond to. Last week was very much a case in point. Wear the italians down and then let loose for the last twenty minutes. Keatley and Murray executed that plan perfectly with the consequence that all sorts of people are now calling for Keatley to be sent back to Munster because Ireland only became creative when Madigan came on!! I have also got the impression from interviews the players have given and comments in the media that they are in danger of being put on the naughty step if they deviate from Joe’s game plan. I may be wrong in this (I hope I am) but it seems to me that if that is the case then this precludes creative rugby until such time as Joe presses the button and says “Now lads, give it welly”. It is stunting any possibility of creativity in the team. Look at the almighty hoo-haa there was over Zebo’s attempted offload against Australia.
Increasingly Ireland are becoming a very very boring team to watch. Some say “it will come” or “We will see some really good backs moves”. I say “When?” Most fans will miss the move because we will be asleep from sheer boredom.
The jury is still out?
First six nations under Schmidt – Champions
One game lost in 2014 (by 3 points at Twickenham)
Beaten Australia and South Africa in the Autumn.
Crushed Wales in Dublin last year.
Sexton & Murray probably the best half back partnership about.
The team needs work, no doubt. However, the coach is a class apart. The rugby wasnt overly scintillating in last year’s win but if you look at Schmidt at Leinster (when he won everything) they played the best rugby. I have no doubt you will see some sterling back play from Ireland throughout this year.
There is unbelievable variation in how the team plays. This week they had to grind it out.
And lets not forget that Italy away on the first weekend are a tough nut to crack. 26-3 is a pounding, and throughout the Irish never gave the Italians any real hope that they would give away cheap points.
You have to win the first weekend or the pressure is massive. Schmidt has done very good things. Minus Sexton and O’Brien for this game, post BOD overall? You just have to take the tough but convincing win for now.
Like B said, the results have been good. and look at the spine. Kearney, Sexton, Murray, O’Connell, Best. Add in O’Mahoney and O’Brien and there is real solidity to build on.
Not sure how anybody gets above a 6 for this match. Jesus it was awful – a stop/start morass of a game with precious little invention or cutting edge from either side
Ireland look like a completely different (and much worse) team without Sexton, (although at least Madigan caused a mild improvement when he came on). Without him, only Murray looked like he belonged in an international game – even O’Mahony was pretty anonymous.
You know its bad when the Italians look the more threatening side with ball in hand
God forbid both Sexton and Murray get injured at the same time. Ireland would be well and truly stuffed