Soon after Le Reality Check came the rallying call.
"You've got to show a bit of fight and intent, and we lacked a bit of that in the first half," said a stunned looking Andy Farrell moments after his team traipsed off the pitch following the worrying 36-14 loss to France in which he added they were "second best by quite a stretch".
A damning indictment of his team but the boss is fully aware that it's also on the coaches to get their side to the pitch of the battle.
Ireland were second best across the board in round one, conceding five tries to two (acoring theirs when the game was effectively over), missing 35 tackles to 21, conceding six penalties to four, making just five linebreaks to 13 from France.
They broke even at the setpiece, winning all their scrums and 94% of their lineouts. For all the concern ahead of kick-off, it was an area Fabien Galthie didn’t target.
While the numbers tell some of the story, it’s Farrell’s reaction, usually kept within the sanctity of the dressing room, that got to the meat of the matter.
He’s done more talking with his selection for today’s game, with Josh van der Flier, Cian Prendergast, Jimmy O’Brien and Jacob Stockdale all cut from the 23.
Tadhg Beirne and Jamison Gibson-Park, erstwhile first names on the team-sheet, are on the bench, alongside fit-again Tadhg Furlong and uncapped Edwin Edogbo.
Considering the previous reluctance to make sweeping changes this is as close to radical as the head coach has been in his seven years in charge.
His press conference on Thursday was peppered with subtle and not so subtle messages to the squad that he expects a furious response against an Italian side that showed no little intent and character in their 18-15 win over Scotland.
That’s illustrated by a look at the stats from Rome where it was the hosts who 'lost’ on paper.
Operating off 35% possession, they had fewer carries and defenders beaten, gave away 16 penalties to 12 and won fewer turnovers. Their last stand, as Scotland went from their own line for almost 40 odd phases before losing possession to a maul tackle, spoke volumes.
They completed 226 total successful tackles, 44 dominant, with an 85.9% success rate.
Farrell is demanding that the players "make things happen by not overthinking things, just playing good, hard, quick rugby."
Perhaps he was referring to the possibility that all the talk of Ireland’s poor discipline has taken some of the punch out of their defence – such was the fear of giving away a costly penalty.
But it’s a delicate balance to strike and Joe McCarthy, who keeps his place at lock, appeared to fall foul of that when he coughed up the cheapest of penalties.
Ireland kicked 40 times in Stade de France and that in itself was not the main issue on a dirty night, but the lack of return from those punts proved costly.
They are unlikely to take to the air as much this afternoon, with the inclusion of Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Cormac Izuchukwu and Edogbo, off the bench, indicating that ball-carrying is being prioritised.
Getting quick, clean ball for the Munster-Leinster half-back partnership of Craig Casey and Sam Prendergast to feed Rob Baloucoune (below) when the Italian defence gets stretched is key also.
Louis Lynagh was excellent in the air against the Scots, while the absence of Ignacio Brex, due to personal reasons, is a loss, as is the continued absence of the injured Ange Capuozzo.
Leonardo Marin comes in for the centre from full-back with Lorenzo Pani going to 15 in the only change for the visitors, who have lost 34 of 38 meetings with Ireland.
But Gonzalo Quesada will have his men believing that this is their time to halt a pathetic championship record in Dublin where they have never won in 13 attempts, never led at half-time and only once finished within a score – the 16-11 defeat in Croke Park in 2008.
The hosts have a 257-57 winning margin from the last five Aviva encounters, however, last season’s game in Rome was a close-run affair where Italy threatened an upset before losing 22-17.
"It is the best Italian side that's come to Dublin," said Farrell ahead of the game which sees a female referee, Hollie Davidson, for the first time in the competition's history.
"We've all watched the games over the last year, the last six months and the job that everyone in Italian rugby is doing there is fantastic."
The game may just escape the seemingly ceaseless rain that has claimed a number of League of Ireland soccer fixtures but it’s not going to be pretty.
Ireland are 16-point favourites but Italy will relish those odds.
Verdict: Ireland 24-16
Ireland: Jamie Osborne; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Cormac Izuchukwu, Caelan Doris (capt), Jack Conan.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Tom O'Toole, Tadhg Furlong, Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Crowley.
Italy: Lorenzo Pani; Louis Lynagh, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Alessandro Fusco; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari; Niccolo Cannone, Andrea Zambonin; Michele Lamaro (capt), Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: Tommaso di Bartolomeo, Mirco Spagnolo, Muhamed Hasa, Federico Ruzza, Riccardo Favretto, David Odiase, Alessandro Garbisi, Paolo Odogwu.
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
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