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Ireland Player Ratings As Farrell's Side Finally Click Into Gear Against Italy

Ireland Player Ratings As Farrell's Side Finally Click Into Gear Against Italy
Gary Connaughton
By Gary Connaughton
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Job done for Ireland in Rome. Andy Farrell's side have run out 48-10 winners over Italy this afternoon, playing some lovely rugby against what admittedly poor opposition.

There were some excellent performance on the Irish side, playing the type of rugby we hadn't seen in this championship up until this point.

Here's how we rated the performances on the day.

Hugo Keenan - 7

Showed great positivity to be off Garry Ringrose's shoulder and break away for Ireland's second try. Keenan broke four tackles in the opening half.

However, he didn't have as much impact as you would have hoped in a game like this overall.

 

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Jordan Larmour - 7

Had four carries in the opening 15 minutes and gave the offload to play Will Connors in for Ireland's third try. Carried six times but was taken off at the interval after picking up a minor injury.

 

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Garry Ringrose - 9

Showed great strength to get through the gap and touch down for the opening try and would produce a beautiful offload to set Hugo Keenan away for the second just after the half hour mark. In all, he carried for 67 metres in the first 40 minutes.

Ringrose was Ireland's biggest running threat in attack all afternoon and looked incredibly dangerous throughout.

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Robbie Henshaw - 8

Earning his 50th cap, Henshaw continually picked the ball up at pace on the gain line, having a team leading seven carries in the opening half.

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He would keep that pace up in the second half, contributing plenty in defence with 13 tackles. Another strong performance for the Leinster man in this championship.

 

James Lowe - 6

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Had one decent break in the opening half but was otherwise fairly quiet. He was also asked to do very little in defence, with his main contribution coming off the boot.

 

Johnny Sexton - 9

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Exemplary from the boot throughout, Sexton had a fairly comfortable afternoon at out half. He made eight tackles overall and kept the Ireland attack ticking over with 21 completed passes.

He was quietly brilliant all afternoon, with moments of class from the captain littered throughout Ireland's attacks. His late pass for the Earls try was the perfect example, while he also finished 8/8 from the tee.

 

Jamison Gibson-Park - 7

Showed some outside the box thinking to run with a penalty in the opening stages and in general kept the pace of Ireland's play very high at the breakdown.

 

David Kilcoyne - 8

Recommended

Won a massive penalty for Ireland in the first half, overpowering the Italian scrum on the Irish five-metre line. The prop also made a huge 13 tackles in his 46 minutes on the pitch, a team leading number at that stage.

A great performance.

 

Rónan Kelleher - 7

Gave away an early penalty, but won an impressive turnover in the ruck a few minutes later. His line-out delivery was exemplary all afternoon with one exception, while he also made 12 tackles in 63 minutes.

An excellent showing on his first Six Nations start.

 

Tadhg Furlong - 8

Making his first start for Ireland in over a year, Furlong had a nervy start after giving away an early penalty right in front of the posts. However, he recovered brilliantly to make some important interventions in attack.

Had six carries in 46 minutes, including a key one in the buildup to Ireland fourth try. Brilliant in the scrum as always.

 

Iain Henderson - 7

Incredibly unlucky not be awarded a try in the opening stages thanks to a questionable TMO call, with another solid afternoon for the Ulster man.

 

James Ryan - 7

Made a massive team leading 19 tackles in the game and was always an option in the line-out.

 

Tadhg Beirne - 7

Didn't quite hit the heights we saw in the first couple of games, however it was still a decent performance from the Munster man.

His five carries were the second lowest amongst the forwards but he did make ten tackles.

 

Will Connors - 9

Drove an Irish maul straight out across the sideline, but came up with a very impressive turnover in the tackle a few moments later. He scored Ireland's third try, getting out to the wing to take the ball off the shoulder from Jordan Larmour.

He also did well to drive over for his second try of the game when it would have perhaps been easier to hand the ball off.

 

CJ Stander - 7

Bundled over for the bonus point try after an uncharacteristically quiet first half in attack. He was more active in the second period and would finish the game with ten carries.

 

Replacements - 7

Baird was excellent after his introduction, while Casey also showed plenty of promise. Keith Earls also popped up with a lovely late try.

SEE ALSO: Offaly Man Does The Haka & Scraps With All Black On Super Rugby Debut

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