It wasn't a vintage Guinness Six Nations afternoon, but Ireland are up and running for the 2026 campaign after winning a 20-13 arm-wrestle against Italy at Aviva Stadium.
Tries for Jamie Osborne, Jack Conan and Rob Baloucoune, with five points from the boot of Jack Crowley, were enough to get Andy Farrell's side over the line, on a day where some players took their chances to impress, and others really struggled.
Here's how we rated them...
Jamie Osborne – 7
Started the game very strongly, drifting into the attack and picking his lanes well which resulted in his opening try, but a poor spilled ball in the Italian 22 on 21 minutes was frustrating. Gave up three turnovers in total, one of which resulted in an Italian scrum, which then led to a penalty for Garbisi to get Italy back with seven points at 20-13.
Rob Baloucoune – 7.5
A solid return to Test rugby for the Ulster wing (pictured below), who impressed on his Six Nations debut. Finished his try excellently, and right from the off he looked to be keen to get on the ball and stretch his legs. Also solid under the high ball, disrupting one crucial Italian kick, in particular, in the final five minutes.
Garry Ringrose – 6
Made one vital, crunching tackle in the final couple of minutes, but overall his high-risk high-reward licence in defence almost stung Ireland again, with four missed tackles, one of which led to Louis Lynagh's disallowed try. Got caught in possession twice, conceding a pair of breakdown penalties.
Stuart McCloskey – 8
Ireland’s most consistent player across the opening two games. It was his brilliant contact work which freed up the ball to offload for Jamie Osborne, and he also set up Rob Baloucoune’s score with a clever flick over the defence. Made 16 tackles, the most important of which saw him secure a turnover right on the stroke of half-time when Ireland were on the ropes.
James Lowe – 8
Along with McCloskey, Ireland’s best player this afternoon. Even before his match-winning interception, the Leinster wing looked back on form and brought a real physical edge in contact, while he was reliable under high balls. A great kick and chase on 60 minutes forced Italy to a poor clearance, and ultimately three Irish points. Finished the game with 138 metres from 12 carries, and nine defenders beat and three clean breaks.
Sam Prendergast – 4
Unfortunately, a day to forget for the out-half. In attack, he was ponderous as he kept trying to find the perfect pass, while his defence weas again exposed. Completely missed Lorenzo Pani in the first half and had Craig Casey to thank for the covering tackle, and even though he would have been unlikely to stop Giacomo Nicotera for the first Italian try, he never even got low enough to make the tackle. Missed both his kicks, neither of which were particularly difficult. While Andy Farrell is keen to stress how high his ceiling is, there are obvious holes in the floor.
Craig Casey – 5
His yellow card for a high tackle was probably fair, as he went in far too high on Lorenzo Cannone, and came out second best for it. Ireland struggled to play at pace in the 50 minutes he was on the pitch, and his kicking in the early stages was inconsistent.
Jeremy Loughman – 6
It started well for the loosehead, who earned a scrum penalty, but then began to struggle under the impressive Simone Ferrari as Italy dominated the set-piece. Didn’t carry a lot of ball, but had two punchy carries leading up to Jack Conan’s second half score.
Dan Sheehan – 5
Normally one of Ireland’s most consistent performers, Sheehan struggled to make an impression on the game. Conceded a needless penalty early on in a great attacking position when he tried to jump over a tackler, and never got into the game.
Thomas Clarkson – 6
Part of an Irish scrum that coughed up a couple of difficult penalties before being withdrawn at half time, although he contributed a solid nine tackles during the opening 40 minutes.
Joe McCarthy – 5
Got on the ball a lot more than he did in Paris last week, but is lacking a punch in the carry. Had one frustrating pull-back for Sam Prendergast hit the floor, although both players can share the blame on that one.
James Ryan – 6
Got on the ball quite a bit during the game, with 18 touches split between 11 carries and seven passes, with one early carry in particular leading to an Ireland penalty which they failed to convert.
Cormac Izuchukwu – 7
Ireland’s primary lineout option on his Six Nations debut, Izuchukwu (pictured below) was arguably Ireland’s best forward on the day. While three of Italy’s points came from an infringement of his, he came up with a big lineout steal early in the second half. A combined 14 tackles and carries.
Caelan Doris – 6
Had 14 carries, and started to gain some momentum as the game wore on, but for large portions he struggled to make a dent in an impressive Italian defence. Gave up a late penalty to invite Italian pressure, having been frustrated not to win a steal moments earlier.
Jack Conan – 7
His try was a deserved reward for his effort. Made 17 tackles, more than any other player in green, and only Jamie Osborne logged more tackles than his 12.
Replacements
Rónan Kelleher – 7
Pushing hard for a start in Twickenham next week after an impactful performance off the bench. Made nine tackles in just under 30 minutes, and his workrate was summed up by how he won possession back from a high Prendergast kick.
Tom O’Toole - 7
There was big pressure on him to lock out a scrum at loosehead prop, a position he’s largely unfamiliar with, and he did so with a few minutes remaining. Like most of the Irish bench, he saw very little attacking rugby in his 14 minutes, but logged nine tackles.
Tadhg Furlong – 5
Came on at half-time for Thomas Clarkson, but struggled to get into the game at all, as Italy’s scrum dominance continued. The sight of him being given wings at the scrum with 15 minutes to play is something we’ve never seen.
Edwin Edogbo – 7 (above)
Threw everything he had at his 10-minute showing, averaging a tackle every 60 seconds. Just about loses half a point for the breakdown penalty he conceded, but overall he’s done enough to be potentially earn a second cap next week.
Tadhg Beirne – 7
May have considered himself unlucky to be on the bench after some turnover last week, and got down to the dirty work in defence in his 30 minutes, also making nine tackles.
Nick Timoney – 7
Huge energy off the bench once again for the second week in a row, and got onto the ball early to settle Ireland down. Contributed to that big kick-chase which led to Crowley’s penalty to make it a 10-point game.
Jamison Gibson-Park – 8
He and Jack Crowley changed the game when they came in, and he brought huge energy to the attack. Kicked excellently when Ireland were under pressure.
Jack Crowley – 8
Andy Farrell admitted his out-half "shanked" that final kick to touch to end the game, and while that will be frustrating, what he did in the previous 15 minutes far outweighed it. He looked determined to play at pace when he came in, and that 10-minute burst to go from 10-10 to 20-10 was the winning of the match.
