Italy player ratings v Ireland: Azzurri tearaway shines with ‘fine all-round display’ while front-rowers impress with superb scrummaging effort

After their 20-13 Six Nations defeat to Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, here’s how the Italy team performed on Saturday.

15 Lorenzo Pani: Came into the run-on side as the only change after the round one victory over Scotland and gave a good account of himself. Pani was lively on attack as he made several superb linebreaks and finished with a team-high 75 metres gained on attack after 10 runs. 8

14 Louis Lynagh: The Benetton flyer was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock on early on, and Ireland scored their first try during that period. Despite that, he did well on attack when he returned to action and was unlucky to have a try ruled out in the second half after the final pass from Tommaso Menoncello went forward. 6

13 Tommaso Menoncello: As usual, the Benetton backline star was at the forefront of Italy‘s challenge with a fine attacking display. Although he was guilty of a forward pass in the build-up to that disallowed Lynagh try, he tore the Irish defence to shreds with a brilliant linebreak in the build-up. Finished with a team-high five defenders beaten and was solid in defence, but also conceded five turnovers. 7

12 Leonardo Marin: Was shifted to inside centre from full-back for this clash and showed some deft touches with ball-in-hand, but was caught out on defence where he missed a match-high five tackles. 5

11 Monty Ioane: The experienced speedster was a constant threat on attack as he tested Ireland‘s defence with his outstanding attacking skill-set and finished with a joint team-high 10 runs made. 7

10 Paolo Garbisi: The Toulon star caught the eye with a fine all-round display as he impressed with his distribution skills and was superb off the kicking tee, where he succeeded with a couple of penalties and a conversion. 7

9 Alessandro Fusco: The Zebre-Parma scrum-half continued where he left off in Italy’s Six Nations opener against Scotland as he provided a slick service to his outside backs during a 63-minute stint on the field. Also kept Ireland’s defenders busy with some sniping breaks around the fringes of the rucks. 7

The forwards

Lifeless Ireland indebted to bench’s rescue act as they edge past improving Italy

8 Lorenzo Cannone: Took the fight to the home side with some strong carries but made his biggest impact on defence, where he led the Italian onslaught with a match-high 18 tackles. Also did his bit with ball-in-hand before David Odiase replaced him in the 67th minute. 8

7 Manuel Zuliani: The 25-year-old tearaway emptied the tank as he delivered a superb all-round display for the full 80 minutes. Apart from being a willing ball carrier and excellent defender, Zuliani was outstanding at the breakdowns where he won a match-high five turnovers and stole a crucial ball at an Irish lineout. 9

6 Michele Lamaro (c): The Azzurri skipper was in the thick of the action from the outset and put his body on the line on attack and defence. Combined brilliantly with Zuliani in the breakdown battle and won a crucial turnover just outside his own 22 early in the second half. 7

5 Andrea Zambonin: Was crucial to the Italian cause in the forward battle as he won a match-high seven lineout balls and put in some big hits on defence before being replaced by Federico Ruzza in the 61st minute. 7

4 Niccolò Cannone: Did his bit with a solid all-round performance as he was competitive in the lineouts, was a willing ball carrier and put his body on the line on defence until Riccardo Favretto replaced him late on. 6

3 Simone Ferrari: The experienced front-row made his presence felt with a massive hit on Garry Ringrose early on and continued to shine on defence as the match progressed. Also came to the fore with a solid scrummaging display as he had Jeremy Loughman in all sorts of trouble at the set-piece. 8

2 Giacomo Nicotera: The Stade Francais hooker caught the eye with a superb performance at the coalface of the forward effort. Was solid in the execution of his core duties, especially his scrummaging, and crossed for his side’s only try late in the first half before Tommaso Di Bartolomeo replaced him in the 59th minute.8

1 Danilo Fischetti: Like Ferrari, Fischetti also made a huge impact at scrum-time as he dominated his direct battle with Tom Clarkson, who was replaced at half-time by Tadhg Furlong, who also came off second-best to the Northampton Saint in the set-piece battle. Apart from his superb scrummaging, Fischetti also did his bit as a ball carrier and on defence before leaving the field on the hour-mark. 8

Replacements: After Italy’s starting line-up did brilliantly during the opening half, and held a deserved 10-5 lead at half-time, their replacements came on after the break, and although they were competitive -especially the props who continued with the excellent work in the scrums – they could not kick on to take their side to an unprecedented victory. 6

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READ MORE: Ireland v Italy: Result, match details, stats, line-ups