Ireland defeated Italy at the Olympic Stadium to secure passage to the Rugby World Cup quarter finals. Joe Schmidt’s men will now face France next Sunday at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to determine which of the two teams will be group winners, with the loser still advancing as runners up. However Ireland will need to perform better than this display in order to be victorious against the French.
Ireland Defeat Italy to Reach World Cup Quarter Finals
Ireland started the match well enough, resisting early Italian pressure and opening the scoring with a Jonny Sexton penalty. Tommaso Allan levelled things up for Italy before Ireland won an Italian line out and Robbie Henshaw put Keith Earls through the line with a lovely inside ball to score the match’s opening try. Sexton added the conversion to give Ireland a 10-3 lead.
Ireland were pegged back five minutes later as Italy were awarded a penalty for not rolling away and Allan reduced the deficit to 10-6. Italy put more pressure on Ireland but were unable to convert it in to points. Ireland then had a chance to extend their lead but Sexton’s penalty hit the upright and bounced clear. Ireland ended the half pushing for more points but the Italians held on to go in at the break only 10-6 down.
The second half was a dull affair with neither side able to make the most of their chances. Ireland almost had a break early on as Iain Henderson charged down an Allan kick, however Captain Sergio Parisse cleared the danger with a kick to touch. Italy thought they had taken the lead when Josh Furno crossed over in the corner, however the Television Match Official showed that Peter O’Mahony had successfully pushed him into touch before the ball was grounded. Italy did still come away with points as Allan reduce the difference with a penalty to make it 10-9.
Both teams made use of their replacements, but the fresh legs could still not make that key break through. Jonny Sexton added two more penalties to extend Ireland’s lead to seven points. Italy were given an opportunity to reduce the Irish lead, but replacement fly half Carlo Canna’s penalty fell short.
With eight minutes remaining Ireland were reduced to 14 men as the TMO picked up Peter O’Mahony with a dangerous charge into the ruck. Ireland were given the chance to seal the match with less than two minutes to go but Sexton could not convert the penalty. Italy attempted to counter with no time left on the clock, but a turnover let Sexton clear the ball into touch to seal the game.
Ireland have made it through to the quarter finals but will need to play mutch better than this performance if they are to progress further and reach the semi finals for the first time in their history. Essential to that aim will be a win over France in Cardiff next week, as the losers of that tie will most likely face New Zealand in the quarter finals.
Joe Schmidt will be looking for a repeat of his side’s 18-11 win in this year’s Six Nations to ensure passage as group winners and avoid the All Blacks at this early stage. Ireland have the talent to progress far in this tournament but will want to put in a good performance against the French in order to carry momentum into the knockout stages.
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