Sports Writing, Feb. 25 The Irish rugby team have taken another step towards achieving the Grand Slam after stringing together their third consecutive victory in this edition of the Six Nations, having beaten Italy 20-34 on Saturday.
A score that did not reflect the many difficulties that the “XV” of Trébol went through at the Olímpico of Rome, who could not claim victory until ten minutes from the end (20-32) thanks to an essay by Mack Hansen.
A tie that no one could have predicted after seeing how Andy Farrell’s men placed themselves just after two minutes with a 0-5 advantage on the scoreboard thanks to a try from James Ryan.
But if everything announced a placid afternoon for the Irish, the duel quickly became complicated for the visitors, who found themselves behind on the scoreboard five minutes later (7-5), after Stephen’s try Varney and the subsequent transformation of Paolo Garbisi.
Quite a warning for the Irish team, number one in the standings, who faced the competition without their captain Johnny Sexton, injured on the last day against France.
A circumstance which did not prevent Ireland, who beat Wales 10-34 on the first day and France 32-19 on the second, from taking a 10-24 lead six minutes from the end of the first time, thanks to tests. by Hugo Keenan, Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen.
However, while everything seemed under control for the “greens”, an interception by Pierre Bruno, who signed the second Italian try after covering the entire field alone, allowed the “azzurri” to reach seven points (17- 24) at the end. rest.
A gap which was further reduced in the quarter of the second half (20-24) after the penalty from Paolo Garbisi.
A result that made Italy dream, which already left very good feelings, despite the defeat, during the first day against France, dreaming of the possibility of surprising.
Sueño que se fue diluyendo primero con un certero golpe de castigo transformed by Ross Byrne, que puso el 20-27 a los 64 minutos, y posteriormente con el fallo de Juan Ignacio Brex, que desaprovechó una oportunidad de lograr un ensayo con una errática patada to contiue.
An error that the Irish team did not forgive which definitively condemned the match ten minutes from the end (20-34) with a try from Mack Hansen, voted best player of the match, and the subsequent transformation of Ross Byrne.
Suffered victory that will allow Ireland to face the last two days of the tournament with full victories, during which the “XV” of Clover will travel to Scotland at Murrayfield on March 12 and will receive, on March 18, England at Dublin.
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