Ireland 26 : 16 Italy

Very, very unconvincing by Ireland. They were run ragged by the Azurri who outthought them tactically and were cruelly robbed by virtue of a try that looked at the time, and has been confirmed by replay, not to have been touched down.

Better things were hoped for from Ireland, but their pack was sluggish and their vaunted back line was much less imposing than might have been thought. We'll see just how well England do today against Wales, but Ireland won't have caused any tremors to pass through the big nations by this performance.