There isn't much to be gained from such a comprehensive thrashing like the one Ireland dished to Italy at the Aviva on Saturday.
As good as it was to see Ireland punish a bad Italy, Italy were bad. Ireland have a right to feel happy with themselves, but a victory over Italy isn't a full sign that Ireland are "back". They need to back it up next week against Scotland.
But that doesn't meant there aren't learnings to be taken from the game, here's what we do know:
1. Ireland Are Good When They Offload
Ireland play risk-averse rugby, presumably because we didn't trust our talents. But as Schmidt observed, when Italy gave us space we produced offloads that wouldn't look out of place in Super Rugby. We scored tries, including Heaslip's wonderful first.
Ireland have the skills to offload, perhaps we can have more than one a game?
2. The Young Ones CAN Be Trusted
Josh van der Flier and Ultan Dillane have rewarded Schmidt handsomely with two very good performances - with both (especially van der Flier) backing it up with improvements against Italy. Fans would like to see more youngsters being given their chance - these two are showing that the young guns can be trusted.
3. Simon Zebo Has A Future At Full-Back
This wasn't a game to test Zebo's defensive capabilities. But the Munster man did show how devastating he can be with ball in hand from the 15 position. He thrives in space, and no position has more space than full-back. Two clean breaks, four defenders beaten, one offload, and 67 metres made - Zebo was an offensive spark for Ireland that provided an X factor.
Is he the finished article? No. He's got some things to work on in defence, namely positioning.
You can't teach what Zebo has, but you can teach what he hasn't got.
See Also: Ireland Player Ratings v Italy: Ireland Get Back On Track With Dominant Win
Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
