Player ratings: Irish loosies rule the roost

Ireland, for the first time in the tournament’s history, will top their pool at a World Cup, after an emphatic 36-6 Pool C win in Dunedin on Sunday.

It was maybe not the most free-flowing game in the first half, but as intriguing as anything we have seen at this tournament – plenty of passion, always simmering and on the brink of boiling over.

However, after the break the Irish backs showed their superiority and took the game away from Italy, laying siege to the Italian line at times.

Jan de Koning rates the Irish players:

15 Rob Kearney:
Managed to break the Italian line on occasion, but also failed to hold on when a try looked on. However, with ball in hand he was always a threat and made good metres.
7/10

14 Tommy Bowe:
Looked dangerous in taking the ball up, then produced an exquisite break early in the second half – coming off his wing – to set op O’Driscoll for the opening try. There was also a fabulous kick-‘n-chase for the try that was not awarded, three times toeing the ball ahead and fighting off Italian defenders in an attempt to ground the ball – the TMO may well have got this one badly wrong.
8/10

13 Brian O’Driscoll (captain):
He played the percentages very well when things were tight in the opening exchange – including a good early grubber. He failed to hold onto a pass on attack inside the Italian 22, but made all his tackles.
7/10

12 Gordon D’Arcy:
He was testing the Italian defensive lines, with limited success, in the early exchanges. However, he produced a great bust to get over the advantage line in a move that resulted in the Keith Earls’ first try. Also made all his tackles.
8/10

11 Keith Earls:
Missed an early tackle on Andrea Masi, but otherwise was sound on defence. Did well on the few occasions he was required to deal with deep kicks or players running at him. Scored two fine tries and while they may have been set up by other players, he still had to finish them.
7/10

10 Ronan O’Gara:
He was bang on target with his first penalty kick, hit the uprights with an easier kick in his second attempt, but from then on was a 100 percent man. He was given plenty of room to move in and got his backline away almost at will. Never troubled by the Azzurri.
7/10

9 Conor Murray:
Struggled with his ball control behind the rucks and conceded possession on occasion in what was generally a scrappy performance. His service to O’Gara was acceptable, as he was little more than a link and passed 64 of the 71 balls he received.
6/10

8 Jamie Heaslip:
Along with his fellow loose forward laid the base for the win. He had a few strong charges, making it over the advantage line, was reliable in the line-outs and made his tackles.
8/10

7 Sean O’Brien:
In a word: colossal. He was strong in carrying the ball up and got over the advantage line almost every time – making well over 50 metres with ball in hand and had the highest tackle count of all the Irish players.
9/10

6 Stephen Ferris:
Failed to collect an early restart, but improved and was strong on defence (including a big hit on Martin Castrogiovanni) and powerful in carrying the ball up.
8/10

5 Paul O’Connell:
There was an early steal, but then he was penalised for illegally sacking a maul and cost his team points. There was another penalty at the maul and one at a ruck – while he also failed to collect a restart early in the second half. Failed to make much ground with ball in hand and had a very poor tackle count.
5/10

4 Donncha O’Callaghan:
For most part the only time you saw was when there was a scrap – maybe that was his job – and he conceded a couple of penalties. He had a decent tackle count and was a menace in the line-outs.
6/10

3 Mike Ross:
He had a big first scrum and an interesting battle with Salvatore Perugini. He won a scrum penalty late in the first half and then had the better of Andrea Lo Cicero, after Castro left the field.
6/10

2 Rory Best:
He was very sedate – a few carries, with no real affect. He may have carried an injury for most of the match, as he was whisked away for X-Rays after being replaced midway through the second half.
5/10

1 Cian Healy:
He was under pressure from Martin Castrogiovanni in early scrums and then reacted to a hand in the face – conceding a penalty. However, he got the better of Salvatore Perugini when the latter moved across after Castro left the field. He later conceded another scrum penalty, as the big boys continued their ding-dong battle up front. However, he even managed a clearance kick and would have been satisfied with his contribution.
6/10

Replacements:

16 Sean Cronin (on for Rory Best, 53rd min):
Made his tackles and had a few decent carries, but not a major impact.
6/10

17 Tom Court (on for Cian Healy, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.

18 Donnacha Ryan (on for Paul O’Connell, 59th min):
Concede a line-out penalty by playing the man, but made his tackles and won a few line-outs.
6/10

19 Denis Leamy (on for Stephen Ferris, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.

20 Eoin Reddan (on for Conor Murray, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.

21 Jonathan Sexton (on for Ronan O’Gara, 67th min):
Made his kicks, as was required and got his backline going. But wasn’t on the field long enough for an accurate assessment.

22 Andrew Trimble (on for Brian O’Driscoll, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.