Stat Breakdown - Ireland vs Italy

For the vast majority of this game Ireland were dominant, and the stats back it up.

Ireland made 9 clean breaks in total, two each for Jacob Stockdale and Robbie Henshaw who gained 125 metres and 96 metres respectively. Stockdale beat 6 defenders and made a staggering 15 carries. Mattia Bellini topped the metres made chart for The Azzuri, gaining 91 metres from just 5 carries.

Alessandro Zanni topped the tackles made charts with an impressive 14, followed closely by teammates Dean Budd with 13 and Negri, Steyn and Bigi all with 12. Bundee Aki lead the Irish tackling statistics with 9 while missing none.

Again, it was Stockdale who topped the turnover leader board with a really impressive 4, sharing the honour with Aki. As we have come to expect so often from the talisman Sergio Parisse, he lead the Italians at the breakdown with 3 turnovers.

Jacob Stockdale opened his #NatWest6Nations account with some serious style. #TV3Rugby pic.twitter.com/vAqYz52bmO

— TV3 Sport (@TV3SportIreland) February 10, 2018

 Ireland were impeccable at the lineout, recording a success rate of 100% compared to Italy’s 71%. This lineout dominance for Ireland was a key factor in the game as it constantly provided them with an excellent attacking platform.

Ireland were also immaculate from the tee, recording a kick success rate of 100%, 5 coming from Jonathan Sexton and the remaining 3 from the placement Joey Carbery. Italy were 2/3 from the tee, all three attempts coming from the boot of Tommaso Allan.

As the bulk of the stats suggest, Ireland dominated many aspects of this fixture and ultimately dominated the scoreline. It was a very disappointing performance by Italy and both the players and the fans will be devastated to have lost so comprehensively.