Head winds frustrate Irish ambitions

Ireland 19 Italy 3


Ireland's homecoming at Lansdowne Rd after conquering the world-champion England team was not the points festival they would have liked in their chase for the Six Nations title, but the weather dictated matters, and a return of three tries to none was not half bad in the circumstances.

Overcoming England at Twickenham was a breeze for the Irish compared with this.

The Irish need not agonise about probably failing to break the Anglo-French duopoly on the championship; they now have a very impressive 17 wins from 24 matches since the Five Nations became Six in 2000.

It seems likely Ireland will have to close the tournament without their openside flanker, Keith Gleeson, who sustained a suspected broken arm in making a couple of tackles in quick succession.

But Brian O'Driscoll, though not quite at full tilt since his recent hamstring injury, was on form with a typically effervescent try just after the half-hour - his 24th in tests and his first against the Azzurri.

The men from the marching band were scurrying to retrieve stray hats and sheet music when Roland de Marigny gave the match what proved to be an appropriate start - the South African-born five-eighths dropped the ball instead of kicking off. It was only the first of many such faux pas, nearly all of them entirely excused by the capricious elements.

After much fumbling and bungling, the opening try, after 25 minutes, was the equivalent of an own goal.

You had to sympathise with stand-in hooker Carlo Festuccia. He was forced into a defensive line-out throw 5m from his own line by a bouncing, rolling kick to the corner by Ronan O'Gara, and tried to chuck the ball underhand to the front.

It might have seemed like a good idea, but neither Andrea lo Cicero, the loosehead prop, nor any other Italian was wise to it, and a grateful Malcolm O'Kelly had only to fall over the line for a gift-wrapped try.

The Leinster giant proceeded to nick Fabio Ongaro's first throw on the latter's return as hooker and, while finding the wind behind them only a partial help, Ireland began to turn the screw. A counter-attack that massed the Italian defence in midfield ended with O'Driscoll crabbing from right to left, before he easily picked his spot and darted past Ongaro to make it 10-0.

The goalposts occasionally appeared in severe danger of clacking together like chopsticks, but Ronan O'Gara somehow threaded the needle that was the conversion kick.

An O'Gara pop-pass later sent D'Arcy on a rousing 30m break, and the same man set up the position for the try that made the win safe.

D'Arcy shrugged off Matteo Barbini and Italy fell offside in their 22. Ireland tapped the penalty, worked the phases in front of the posts and O'Gara's skip pass - with O'Kelly the decoy - sent Shane Horgan over.

The pass was almost certainly forward, and Italy's coach, John Kirwan, resolved afterwards not to buy referee Kelvin Deaker a post-match beer.

- INDEPENDENT