While it wasn't perfect, Ireland will have to be pleased with quite a few aspects of their performance in the victory over Italy this afternoon.
It was a game that Andy Farrell's side were expected to win comfortably, something they did as they ran in seven tries and kept the Italians scoreless in Dublin.
Of course, there will be some things to work on ahead of the fixture against Wales in a couple of weeks. Ireland wasted a few opportunities in attack, while also conceding a few cheap penalties over the course of the 80 minutes.
In saying that, it was a good afternoon's work.
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Brian O'Driscoll names key stat from Ireland Six Nations win over Italy
Looking at the positives from this Six Nations victory, some of the tries they scored were incredibly impressive.
Their second of the game was particularly eye-catching, with Jack Crowley and Robbie Henshaw displaying some beautiful hands before Dan Sheehan touched down for the score.
𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐇𝐀𝐍! ☘️
Magic from Ireland! Magic from Jack Crowley!
☘️ 12-0 🇮🇹#IREvITA | #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/fYvLYq8L1X— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 11, 2024
That sort of attacking play is something they will be looking to build on over the remainder of the championship.
Speaking on ITV after the game, Brian O'Driscoll said this was a performance that Ireland can improve on over the coming weeks. He also identified the amount of offloads the team produced as a particularly pleasing stat from the contest.
It was an incredibly solid performance, so many good things to take from it.
They seemed a little downbeat, but there was probably enough errors and imperfections littered in there for us not to fall in love with ourselves just yet. We're realising that's there's lots more work and improvement to happen with the side...
There's lots to be very, very happy about, and hopefully a limited injury list as well. They will be pleased.
It's a tricky game because so much is expected against Italy, and when you don’t deliver on a huge scale, there is always holes to pick. I think on the whole it was pretty pleasing...
There was 11 offloads for Ireland today, that is significant. There was only three last week.
Changing the point of contact keeps defences moving, you're not able to set that defensive line and you're not table to connect in threes, as all defensive systems want to do.
I thought that was one really strong component to Ireland's game today.
This type of flair in attack is something Andy Farrell has been keen to add to the Ireland attack even since being appointed as head coach, with the team continually evolving in that area.
They will be hoping that it can play a crucial role in some of the closer games still to come in this year's Six Nations.
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