Simon Easterby sought to accentuate the positives in an Irish Six Nations campaign which yielded four wins out of five but there was also no disguising his frustration with a performance which ultimately was not the restorative display and victory the team had sought.
It certainly didn’t feel like a title-winning performance before England quickly set about banishing any unlikely thoughts of a historic third title in a row, with Ireland destined to finish third in the table despite a fourth win.
“It’s five points that we needed, initially, but a little bit disappointed that we didn’t quite play at our best today,” admitted the interim head coach after Ireland’s edgy 22-17 win. “I think credit to Italy. They had a part to play in that. But certainly we probably coughed up too much possession. We didn’t quite make the most of some of the opportunities that we had.
“First half, we scored two tries and they came off the back of some really good work in the maul and I think in a game like that, I think had we got a bit further ahead of them, we could have broken the back of them a little bit but we allowed them to stay in the game and I think the scoreline reflected that. It was tighter than it should have been given the amount of possession we had in the second half.”
France hold off stern Scotland challenge to clinch Six Nations title in Paris
England end Ireland’s Six Nations title hopes after 10-try mauling of Wales
Simon Easterby frustrated by Ireland’s missed tackles and coughing up of possession
Italy vs Ireland as it happened: Easterby’s men secure four-try bonus point at Stadio Olimpico in patchy display
Ireland made a whopping 23 handling errors and had 20 turnovers, and the players’ body language and errors betrayed signs that the team had carried the acute sense of disappointment at seeing the chance of a lifetime all but shredded by the brilliance of France seven days ago.
Yet Easterby did not believe they had carried a mental ‘hangover’ from that game into this one, although he did concede that the players had forced their hand too much.
“No, not really. We felt like the week had gone well. We turned the page, we ironed out some of the things we didn’t do so well in the French game. It felt like we’d turned a page.
“Sometimes you try too hard to make those passes stick or make one more pass at the line but credit to Italy. They put us under pressure as well. We probably didn’t deal with that pressure as well as we could have done, so we got the five points that we needed but it wasn’t the sort of scoreline that we anticipated. But part of that it down to a little bit of inaccuracy and probably trying too hard to force things that went wrong.”
Although Ireland outscored Italy by four tries to two, and another wrongly disallowed as well as two more ruled out on review, Italy made six line breaks to four.
“Missed tackles, probably,” said Easterby in identifying the primary cause of this, and Ireland did miss 28 in total. “Usually, what happens when you get cut. It looked a little bit greasy out there at times, guys were slipping a little bit, but they’re a good attacking team, they have the ability.
“They showed in the French and English performances, they conceded too easily but they attack well. A number of players at the core of their attacking team, 10, 12 and 13, played really well and we didn’t deal with a couple of their threats early on.
“They’ve shown across the championship, they’ve been good with ball in hand. At times we were good and nullified them, we had to work hard to create some width in the defensive line because they were getting width in the attack, and I thought at times we were really good without the ball. But, at other times, if you miss one or two tackles they have the ability to hurt you and they did.”
Inevitably, there was a significant focus on the performance of the recalled Jack Crowley, and although he had some nice touches while often operating off slow ball, he missed three of his four conversions, whereas Tommaso Allan was two from two with his conversions and he also struck a fine penalty.
“He was good in a slightly inconsistent team performance, so it’s always hard for a 10 to feel how he can impact the game. I thought he did well, I think the positive thing for us is we’ve had the experience for Sam [Prendergast] in that position and Jack’s come into the group this week and he’s led the team well.
“It’s pleasing that those two have had a bit more time in the saddle and that will only stand to them as we move forward.”
At least Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray could sign off their Test careers on a winning note, and the enormous Irish travelling support could celebrate their exceptional careers and that of Cian Healy, who was among the squad in the stands before the squad did so into the night.
“I think those three players have been incredible for what they’ve done on the pitch. But we spoke in the changing room about what they’ve done off the pitch for the players who play in a similar position to them; how they’ve connected with players from other provinces, they’ve really left their mark on the team, on Irish rugby and certainly internally they’ve had a real impact on management, coaches and players.
“You’re always going to miss players that move on, particularly players who’ve had so much experience and time with the group as those players. That is part and parcel of sport, people move on and we’ll certainly recognise and acknowledge that tonight.
“But we’ll have to move on and I think that the fact that Jack Boyle has done well and got a couple of caps under his belt, under the guidance of Fogs [scrum coach John Fogarty] and Cian, that’s a nice part of what Cian has been able to do and his relationship with other frontrows.
“There’s a lasting legacy that the three of them have left on the field, certainly as people, the team has to move forward and has to produce the next Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray.
“That’s the challenge.”
