Ireland v Italy LIVE: Six Nations 2024 score and result as hosts secure comfortable second win

Charged down! Italy fail to protect Stephen Varney as he tries to box kick from a ruck, and Dan Sheehan’s lifted limbs block the ball back. Paolo Garbisi just about manages to escape the Ireland hooker’s clutches, allowing support to arrive and Varney to assemble a hungrier caterpillar, from behind which he clears.

A missed connection at the back of the lineout leaves Gianmarco Lucchesi stumbling a little, stalling Italy’s efforts in launching an assault. That allows this brilliant Simon Easterby-drilled defence to lift the line speed, Italy pushed back and eventually forced to kick. Italy are moving the ball with plenty of zip but there have been precious few fissures in the green rockface so far.

A bit of a physical mismatch as the mosquito-like Ange Capuozzo jinks into a couple of Irish forwards, but the full-back does well to get a knee to floor, and Andrew Porter fails to heed Luke Pearce’s call to release the tackled player. Italy punt down towards the Irish line.

Ah, but there’s the error, a wayward pass hitting the deck and Lorenzo Pani stripped as he tries to mop up. Handy scrambling, in the end, from Ireland, with Joe McCarthy and Lowe involved heavily.

A scrum free kick allows Italy to clear up to halfway, though Lowe collects and comes rumbling back with fire and fury. Jack Crowley looks for territory but is charged down, and Italy pour through the next breakdown to win turnover ball.

Monty Ioane is a useful man to have on the outside to exploit it, eating up the metres on the left touchline. He’s involved again soon after, wrestling through a couple of tacklers and into the 22.

Good defence from Italy! You feel they needed to keep Ireland out there, and they manage it, the maul counter-effort staunch and the fringe defenders alert to James Lowe’s presence on Craig Casey’s shoulder, the wing taken man and ball and forced into a knock on.

Italian hands disrupt the lineout possession, but it’s gone forward, so Ireland will have the scrum. Actually, a penalty - the knock on as Ireland tried to play away was deliberate. Into the corner Ireland go as they bid to follow up this lovely opening score...

Jack Crowley, much like Johnny Sexton, has real bravery to take the ball to the line, and you could see the problems that poses defences throughout that passage. Italy just had to bite in on the fly half, affording soft shoulders through which others could push to build momentum.

That’s good from last week’s other breakthrough star, Joe McCarthy shooting out of the line and depositing Paolo Garbisi some ten yards behind the gainline. Ireland win a penalty at the breakdown - to the Italian 22 they return.

And Ireland strike!

Oh, they really are so impressive in phase play. Variety and venom as Ireland keep the ball moving, Craig Casey zippy around the base and the forward carries punchy. But the finish is all about Jack Crowley, first driving at the line to hold Monty Ioane and pop Calvin Nash into space, then injecting extra gas at first receiver to hurry through a hole on Casey’s shoulder and over for the score out on the right.

Can Crowley convert his own try, 16 metres in from the touchline? Nope, another low skudder and away to the left.

Smart from Hugo Keenan! The Ireland full-back catches Italy napping after marking a high hoist, tapping and sprinting by Alessandro Izekor as the rest of the Italian chasers switch off. Into the Italy half the hosts go, Robbie Henshaw striding into space but just felled from behind. Aromising attack this, though.