Full Ireland ratings as Mike Lowry shines in victory over 13-man Italy

IRELAND 57-6 ITALY

Andy Farrell's men were forced to show 13-man Italy no mercy after a tough law call. Our Ireland ratings have three players that really shone.

The turning point in the game arrived when replacement hooker Hame Faiva was red-carded for a shoulder-to-head tackle on Dan Sheehan. As starting hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi was already off injured, Italy were forced to go for uncontested scrums and had to play the rest of the game - by additional punishment - with only 13 players. Ireland were only 7-3 up at the time - 18 minutes in - but now with superior numbers, they added scores from Jamison Gibson-Park, Mike Lowry and Peter O'Mahony to Joey Carbery's early, converted try. [caption id="attachment_251031" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Ireland players stand as a message is shown on the big screen condemning the invasion of Ukraine before the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match against Italy. (Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile)[/caption]

Ireland put 13-man Italy through the wringer

With Peter O'Mahony urging his teammates on, but an oddly stilted atmosphere in the crowd, Ireland sought to rack up as big a score as possible. Italy held them out for 12 minutes of the second half but then conceded tries to Lowry and Lowe in the space of five minutes. Ireland were flat and error-strewn, though, and their next try came courtesy of a Ryan Baird charge-down with 10 minutes to play. With minutes to play, Lowry was unselfish, Lowe scored his second and sub Johnny Sexton converted to make it 50-6. By that stage, Italy were down to 12 men after Bram Steyn had been sin-binned. The final word went to Kieran Treadwell, who bashed over at the end on his first Test outing in five years. Here's how we rated Andy Farrell's men in green:

IRELAND RATINGS

Michael Lowry - 8 Timed his run well and showed great feet for his try. Again showed his timing to come in support of Sexton for his second try. Mack Hansen - 6 His kicks were a mix of excellent and loose. Almost got away on a couple of carries. Won his side a handy turnover. Garry Ringrose - 6 Went off early after his head was cut open. Beat a few defenders with nifty foot-work. Robbie Henshaw - 6 Not the only Ireland played to get the ball plucked from him at the breakdown. First Test start since last November but looked off his best. James Lowe - 8 Got turned over, early on, as he found himself isolated. Super aerial take and kick up the left touchline, around 20 minutes in. Nice line break and try assist for Gibson-Park. Grabbed the simplest try of his career, then helped himself to a second in the closing stages. Joey Carbery - 6 Nice support line saw him grab his second Test try. Struggled to put tempo into Ireland's play. Not helped by teammate's breakdown sloppiness. Did not look happy when he was replaced. Jamison Gibson-Park - 6 Nice support line saw him get a handy try when Lowe made his break. Repaid the favour to set up Ireland's fifth. Andrew Porter - 7 As purposeful and aggressive as ever. Got about his business well before going off injured early in the second half. Dan Sheehan - 6 His lineout darts were on the money. Only had two real chances to get his legs pumping. Tadhg Furlong - 6 Stuck all his tackles. Could have done better with some clear-outs. Was guilty of botching what would have been a simple try for O'Mahony. Tadhg Beirne - 7 Made one lovely turnover inside the Irish 22. Then conceded a kickable penalty, soon after. Got over the gainline on a few carries. Ryan Baird - 6 Stepped up with a great charge-down and bolt for his first Ireland try. Made a couple of strong carries but did not do enough to force his way into the next starting XV. Peter O'Mahony - 7 Kept the foot down when Italy were reduced to 13 men. Got his first Test try since the 2019 World Cup when he scored in the corner. Josh van der Flier - 6 Took him all of six minutes to win his first turnover. Gave one back when he was pinged for not releasing. Happened to him again after the break. Spilled forward while attempting an offload to Beirne, near the posts. Caelan Doris - 7.5 Lovely hands, early on, to help set up that Carbery try. Looks more suited to this role than blindside. With room to roam, he made 89 metres from 12 carries and stuck eight tackles.

REPLACEMENTS

Dave Kilcoyne (for Porter '43) - 5 Couple of good carries. Fell off a couple of tackles. Jack Conan (for Doris '54) - 7 Made 36 metres off eight carries in his 25 minutes on the pitch. James Hume (for Ringrose '54) - 6 Made some good carries in an earlier blood-sub cameo. Johnny Sexton (for Carbery '54) - 7 Offloaded to Lowry for his try, soon after coming on. Nice touchline conversion. Craig Casey (for Gibson-Park '61) - 5 Tried to up the tempo. Finlay Bealham (for Furlong '61) - 6 Tackled with intent. Kieran Treadwell (for Beirne '61) - 6 Threw himself about. Try at the death. Rob Herring (for Sheehan '68) - 5 His first lineout, just after coming on, was lost. Attempted offload went to Italian hands.

---