Ireland 20-13 Italy
Azzurri led at half-time for first time in Dublin
After what felt like 40 days and 40 nights of darkness and rain, the sun came out in Dublin. Cold, yes, and a grey day by kick-off but bright enough to throw light on an Ireland side scrambling for their footing, and a bullish Italian outfit looking to break new ground.
Never having won a Six Nations tie in Dublin might be the sort of statistic to weigh you down. The Azzurri carried it like a backpack with only a couple of bits and bobs. For the first 40 minutes of physical, narky and very watchable Test rugby, they looked like they have never looked before at this venue in this competition: a well-rounded side with self assurance to go with passion. By the end of 80 minutes the picture had changed only to reflect a shortage of finesse to finish, as they pounded away in the Ireland 22 before James Lowe lifted the siege.
Still, you wondered if the last play of that first half might undo Italy in the final chase. They were making the most of their advantage thanks to Craig Casey being binned for a high shot on Lorenzo Canone – not something the scrum-half is either accused or convicted of very often – and with two scrum penalties in a row Paolo Garbisi tucked the ball neatly out of touch close to the Ireland line. In the huffing and puffing that followed they failed to turn their 10-5 lead, thanks to Giacomo Nicotera’s try, into something better.
