The stats tell us that Ireland have scored six tries against Wales, France and England in their last ten Six Nations encounters.
Joe Schmidt’s philosophy is very much low risk and low reward but should we be scoring more tries?
"Ireland rarely hammer teams but having said that it’s a very effective strategy for us," Bernard Jackman told RTÉ Sport.
"It means our winning percentages are very high, it means we will always be in contention for winning a championship.
"We are very comfortable in those tight games. We are used to it and we are aware that we can wear teams down."
The stats also tell us that the most tackles made by a team in Six Nations history was by France against Ireland last Saturday with 253.
They worked hard but were denied the win by Johnny Sexton’s last gasp drop goal.
The second, third and fourth ranked games where the most tackles were made were also against Ireland. In 2015 Wales made 250, the previous year Italy made 245 and in 2017 Scotland made 242.
"We starve the opposition of possession; we build a huge amount of phases. It’s very rare for Ireland to not have fewer penalties conceded than the opposition, " added Jackman.
"The defending team are more likely to give away penalties than the attacking side.
"Ireland tend to spend more time with the ball than a lot of our opponents because we are so technically good at the breakdown and so organised in terms of each players responsibilities in terms of which breakdown to resource"
"It’s a really effective strategy, it’s suited to the squad he has. They are incredibly fit, really good skill level, really good technically and they are able to follow a game plan. They are mentally resilient which is a key factor in being a team that wins tight games.
"They are the areas that you would want for that type of game plan and everyone who goes into the camp knows what they need to do and the players believe if they execute they will win."
In last year’s Six Nations Ireland scored two tries against Wales, France and England. France scored four against Ireland, Wales and England. In the corresponding fixtures England and Wales had three.
"We don’t always score as many tries as our opponents but what’s the best strategy for us to win consistently and I think we have become world class at this type of game and that is the blue print for us for success," Jackman added.
"We grind teams down and that suits the player we have. Generally that makes opposition teams concede points either through tries or penalty goals.
"We have a top class goal kicker, we’ve used our maul really well when we have kicked to the corner in the past and usually when we get to the opposition 22 we don’t leave there without a score.
"Everyone said wow Scotland they ran New Zealand close in November, they beat Australia easily playing a brilliant brand of rugby and then they go to Cardiff and it all unfolds."
Follow our live blog of Ireland v Italy (2.15pm kick-off) on RTÉ Online and the RTÉ News Now App, or listen to commentary from Michael Corcoran and Donal Lenihan on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
