Analysis: Worrying Ireland trend continues in attack against Italy

Lots to ponder.....

This, of course, is not quite the case.

How can it be that Italy were lavished with such praise after the game, but Ireland's victory - which included outscoring their opponents three tries to one - is being cited as clear proof of a team going backwards at a rate of knots.

As always, the truth is somewhere in the middle; while Ireland are not the force of 2023, they are not far off putting in a performance worthy of a top-four side in the world. And hopefully such a day will come on Saturday against England.

Many have pointed out, and rightly so, that the out-half discourse is distracting from more pressing issues, including the scrum, and the main focus of this article - Ireland's clinicality in enemy territory.

Not only is the latter worrying because it has now become a trend, but also because it is more of a player problem rather than a systems error.

Individuals - some of whom would be or have been deemed as world class - are failing to execute straight-forward skills on the ball or making poor decisions, preventing Ireland from coming away with points after periods of positive play.

We counted a number of these incidents from Ireland's win over Italy, which were spread out among seven different players.

Ireland's lack of accuracy

First up, we have one of the more obvious examples, with Dan Sheehan giving away a penalty for jumping into a tackle from a five-metre tap-and-go in the seventh minute.

As pointed out by @Rugby_Scoop on X, Sheehan got away with the same offence during the Lions tour last summer.

Despite Andy Farrell taking much of the blame for Ireland's form, experienced players need to shoulder the majority of the responsibility when repeating the same, costly errors.

The next example sees Ireland cleverly switch the direction of the play after a lineout on the left side of the pitch.

It leaves the Italians incredibly thin out wide, with a try or, at the very least, a foray deep into the Azzurri 22 on the cards, if Ireland can take advantage of the sizeable overlap.

This time it's Joe McCarthy - another man who shone at the highest level for the Lions last year - who fails to pull off what is a basic pull-back pass.

The ball goes to ground, and Italy are once again let off the hook, building their confidence as Ireland grow frustrated with their lack of points despite territorial dominance.

Garry Ringrose is the next culprit, in the first of two offences from the Lions outside centre.

In what was one of Ireland's stand-out attacks, James Lowe receives the ball down the left wing after a half-break from Robert Baloucoune.

He gives a first-class demonstration of the attributes which see him consistently picked over others, with his innate ability to keep the play alive, through his strength and handling.

Ringrose receives the offload, but instead of simply keeping the ball in two hands, staying square, and drawing in Leonardo Marin - which would have set up an easy pop pass for Sam Prendergast to take and likely score in the corner - he opts for a hand-off on Marin, which takes up some of Prendergast's space and makes the offload more difficult.

Still, the opportunity remains alive, but he decides to take contact instead.

In the next gif - which shows the very next phase after Ringrose goes to ground - we see Prendergast make a poor decision not to pass the ball from the base of the ruck after Baloucoune initially gets rid of Manuel Zuliani, before the out-half gets shoved off the ball far too easily and Ireland are turned over.

Luckily, Ringrose's next faux pas in attack didn't affect the scoreboard, as Jamie Osborne dotted down a few phases later.

But, against stronger teams, these chances will not come by as often, and it is imperative that Ireland start taking them.

In this instance, the right option from Prendergast may have been to hold onto the ball a half second longer and then throw a skip pass over the top, but he sends it to Ringrose straight away.

Initially, the Leinster man does well to beat the rush defence with nice footwork, and even goes to send what is a relatively easy pass over the top for a player of his calibre.

Had he thrown the pass, Ireland would have had a three-on-one - with Cormac Izuchukwu, Jack Conan and Baloucoune lying in wait - and almost a certain try, but instead he takes contact and the whole move slows down.

In fact, it's a similar situation to Ireland's second-half try, with Stuart McCloskey, like Ringrose, stepping inside to beat the rush defence, but deciding instead to throw the pass, and setting up Baloucoune for a score.

Thankfully, Tom Clarkson put in a fine carry soon after to give Ireland momentum once more and they scored off the next phase.

The next two examples are shown in the two clips below.

The first one is cut and dried; just a schoolboy knock-on from another Lion, Jamie Osborne, who largely had an excellent game from fullback.

It's another well-orchestrated attack by Prendergast, and another easy out for the Italians.

The second clip is the least egregious error of the lot, but it is yet another missed opportunity for Farrell's men.

The Italians find themselves scrambling to recover their defensive shape inside the 22, after the home team had regained possession off a trademark spiral bomb from Prendergast.

The visitors are bunched in tight, leaving acres of space out to the right, and you can see Ringrose calling for the ball in the left-hand corner of the screen shot below.

Unusually, Prendergast opts to take the ball on himself, and the chance is gone.

McCloskey should also be more animated, and making sure his No 10 knows that it is on out wide.

That would be the last serious attack with Prendergast on the pitch before Jack Crowley entered the fray, giving Ireland a much-needed adrenaline injection in tandem with Jamison Gibson-Park.

The latter's introduction was particularly crucial, after a lacklustre and ponderous display from Craig Casey.

But despite this, the Leinster maestro was not without his faults, and arguably cost his side four valuable points.

After efficient kick-and-chase pressure from Osborne and Lowe, Ireland had Italy on the ropes just five metres out from their line.

When Ireland were awarded a penalty advantage, the scrum-half was like a dog who had got the scent of a squirrel and his mind was not for changing.

Crowley was the exasperated owner, screaming for the ball, trying in vain to avoid the inevitable.

Such was the space on the right and Italy's lack of numbers, even if the defence did force the ball out to the edge, you would have backed Baloucoune to finish in a one-on-one situation.

Instead, Gibson-Park sends an ill-advised and poorly executed cross-field kick to the Ulster winger, who fails to get near it.

Crowley, despite his overall positive impact which he was rightly praised for, was far from perfect, as shown in the three clips below.

The first example occurred a few phases prior to the Gibson-Park kick. Admittedly, it is a harsh critique of the Munster No 10, as Ireland do not cough up possession.

And, had he pulled off the right move, it would have been a magnificent assist.

However, if you were to ask Crowley, he would be frustrated for picking the short-pass option to Osborne, instead of the skip ball to Lowe, which would likely have seen him touch down in the corner.

The second clip comes after a rare but welcome backfield line break, again courtesy of Osborne and Lowe.

It is also an interesting moment in the context of the Prendergast vs Crowley debate.

It sees Ireland with an opportunity down the left, with Crowley choosing the right option with a skip pass to Ringrose.

Unfortunately, it is a few yards forward. And if there was uncertainty why Prendergast often gets the nod over his rival, it is passes like these which he usually nails.

There is not much to be said over the final clip.

The game gone past the 80, penalty five metres out from the Italian line, a bonus point up for grabs, kicks it dead.

Speechless.

If Ireland can rectify these issues, then a first 'big' win since beating England in Dublin last February is possible.

But how exactly do Andy Farrell and Co. get players with such pedigree to stop making such basic errors?