Baloucoune spares Ireland’s Six Nations blushes as they recover to see off Italy

After what felt like 40 days and 40 nights of darkness and rain, the sun came out in Dublin. Cold, yes, and a grey day by kick-off, but bright enough to throw light on an Ireland side scrambling for their footing, and a bullish Italy one looking to break new ground.

Neither quite worked out. Never having won a Six Nations game in Dublin might be the sort of statistic to weigh you down but the Azzurri carried it here like a backpack with only a couple of bits and bobs. What they achieved was to give the Championship a highly competitive performance that was heartening, but not worthy of a note in history.

As for Ireland, Andy Farrell shaped the narrative all week with his declaration that intent was a non-negotiable. He got that in spades in the endgame when his team were throwing themselves under blue buses trying to batter a route to the Irish line. In a very physical, narky Test match that was always watchable, the shortage of some extra guile – exhaustion had to be a factor – was Italy’s undoing as they tried to square the game. But when Farrell was backing his players into a corner he expected them to fight their way out of it, and finish with a knockout.

Did he factor in a winning bonus point? The context there was that with the clock already in the red Ireland were defending very well to hang on to their seven-point lead. Suddenly that shifted into a different race: a sprint towards a bonus point. It ended with them settling for what they had and putting the ball out of play.

By then the positives were topped by Robert Baloucoune picking up the man-of-the-match award; Edwin Edogbo making his debut with a suitably stubborn shift; and Ireland’s nightmare in the air, where France had shot them down from start to finish in round one, was turned into a reasonable dream.

Farrell was quick to point out the quality of Baloucoune’s try, which put Ireland seven points clear with the last quarter to come. Yes, it was ambitious and creative and a cracking finish from the wing.

“Jack was at the forefront of that as well,” Farrell said of Crowley. “I thought he played outstandingly well when he came on.”

Giacomo Nicotera’s try gave Italy a half-time lead. Photograph: Seb Daly/Sportsfile/Getty Images

The coach can’t have missed the reception the Bandon man got from the crowd when he replaced Sam Prendergast in the second half. In Ireland’s continuing and heat-generating debate over who should have the keys to No 10, this will be seen by some as a successful rescue mission. As ever, Prendergast shuffled with ease through his very impressive passing game, only to do himself in with two missed conversions that should be bread and butter to goal-kickers in Test rugby. The momentum Ireland got from Crowley was unmissable, however.

So was their struggle at the scrum, putting together a sequence of three penalties conceded in a row between the end of the first half – which Italy finished 10-5 ahead courtesy of Giacomo Nicotera’s try and a Paolo Garbisi conversion and penalty – and the start of the second. The away team would have been happier still to wrap the first period further ahead for Craig Casey was in the bin and they were camped in Ireland’s 22.

Equally Ireland started the second half so well, with a try from Jack Conan to square the game, they might have thought the hard part was over. What followed next was acutely difficult for them as Italy forced them to exit three times in a row before Louis Lynagh got over in the corner. It was ruled out, correctly, for a forward pass.

The relief turned into elation five minutes later when Baloucoune did his thing and Crowley succeeded where Prendergast had failed in adding the extras. Again we thought Italy might fold, but again they came back for more, always threatening at the scrum, always willing to carry, always willing to try and win rather than settle for just hanging on.

A losing bonus point for them was certainly better than an empty space on the points ledger, but for their hosts it was less than they needed before next week’s trip to Twickenham.