It was a second weekend without a bonus-point, however, Ireland crossed for three tries. Jamie Osborne, Jack Conan and Robert Baloucoune all scoring.
20:57, 14 Feb 2026Updated 22:37, 14 Feb 2026
Ireland fans celebrate as Jamie Osborne scores his sides first try of the match(Image: ©INPHO/Ben Brady)
Ireland 20-13 Italy
Ireland, with six changes on board, got away with it and posted a win against Italy, but it was a close-run thing as the visitors pressed hard for a score at the death.
The pluses were top-class performances from newcomers such as try-scorer Robert Baloucoune, who was also Man of the Match, Cormac Izuchukwu, who may be the answer to Ireland’s lineout foibles, James Lowe’s 138 metres in attack, all aided by James Ryan and Jack Conan’s dynamism.
If the plusses sound enough to register a handy bonus-point win, it doesn’t take into account being dominated at the set-piece scrum, Sam Prendergast failing to ignite and place-kicking poorly, a Craig Casey yellow card, and a still off-form Joe McCarthy.
Moreover, having scored the game’s first try, Ireland failed to kick on and were 5-10 down at the break. But, as with Paris in the first round, Ireland’s second-half was better, and despite being under duress a number of times, the defence held.
Once again, Italy were overtaken by their own yellow peril, a constant problem for them in away games in the Six Nations, with Louis Lynagh penalised for a deliberate knock on in the 11th minute.
Referee Hollie Davidson – the first woman to referee a men’s Six Nations game – went to the TV and judged Lynagh had been prevented from a Lowe linebreak, a yellow card; Antoine Dupont knocked on similarly last week.
It’s rugby, referees (albeit subconsciously) tend to trigger-react in favour of the team they think should be winning, Lynagh gets yellow, Dupont gets away with it…
Either way, Ireland, picked for physicality, remember, having brought in Baloucoune, Ryan, Izuchukwu and Conan, four-square ‘grunt’, set about pressing home the advantage.
Sure enough, Ireland were soon forcing the issue against the 14 men, and the breakthrough came following Craig Casey’s firing to Sam Prendergast with Garry Ringrose next to handle and shipping it on to Stuart McCloskey.
The big Ulster centre was tackled but, dropping to his knees, he heeded the call from Jamie Osborne off his left shoulder and produced a superb off-load that put the full-back through to score just left of the posts.
Incredibly Prendergast, who has a slight ‘push’ on all of his kicking, over-corrected and missed to the right, two points gone astray.
Italy kicked a penalty given for interference before the sin-bin was up, the visitors had escaped the 10-minute period with a 3-5 loss.
Ireland were further struggling just past the half-hour when Casey was yellow-carded for a high tackle. Italy kicked the penalty to touch, Zambonin won the throw, and Nicotera shot off the back of the subsequent maul to score.
Garbisi’s conversion had Italy 10-5 up, and it could have been more as the out-half pointed to the posts just before half-time; however, having been told to take the ball back five metres, he changed his mind. Italy kicked for touch, won the throw, but were contained until half-time.
Ireland managed a fast start to the second-half, kicking a penalty to touch in the left-hand corner from where, following a couple of surges. Conan burrowed over.
Italy managed a huge bust down the centre in the 52nd minute, but a Lynagh try was called back for a forward pass while Ireland scored five minutes later thanks to the quick-thinking McCloskey’s one-handed pass over defenders to Baloucoune, who steadied himself before flatfooting two defenders and scoring.
Ireland were still in shaky scoreboard territory, so much so that Crowley, having come in for Prendergast, opted to kick a 63rd-minute penalty, taking the score to 20-10 and for Garbisi to reciprocate this three minutes later.
Both defences bossed the last quarter-of-an-hour, albeit one Garry Tingrose tackle gains a special mention while Lowe just didn’t have the gas to score a 90m dash – a try that had it happened would have netted a bonus-point.
Ireland: Jamie Osborne; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Caelan Doris (capt), Jack Conan.Replacements: Ronan Kelleher for Sheehan 51, Tom O’Toole for Loughman 66, Tadhg Furlong for Clarkson h/t, Edwin Edogbo for Ryan 70, Tadhg Beirne for McCarthy 51, Nick Timoney for Izuchukwu 58, Jamison Gibson-Park for Casey 51, Jack Crowley for Prendergast 55.Italy: Lorenzo Pani ; Louis Lynagh , Tommaso Menoncello , Leonardo Marin , Monty Ioane ; Paolo Garbisi , Alessandro Fusco ; Danilo Fischetti , Giacomo Nicotera , Simone Ferrari , Niccolò Cannone , Andrea Zambonin , Michele Lamaro (capt) , Manuel Zuliani , Lorenzo Cannone Replacements: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo for Nicotera 59, Mirco Spagnolo for Fischetti 59, Muhamed Hasa for Ferrari 59 , Federico Ruzza for Zambonin 61 , Riccardo Favretto for N Cannone 57, David Odiase for L Cannone 57 , Garbisi for Fusco 63, Paolo Odogwu for Marin 67