GILBERT Ireland International Replica Rugby Ball , 5 - Ireland

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He could be forgiven. This Italy team under Kieran Crowley are fast improving and the Six Nations is all the better for it. The Ireland Rugby union team are currently ranked 2 nd in the world and have won the Six Nations Championship 4 times and are yet to win a World Cup title. With a scrum penalty advantage, Libbok worked a wraparound with De Allende and his long pass put Kolbe over. But despite the latter narrowing the conversion angle as Hansen had done, Libbok missed the two-pointer. Sometimes the Boks threw two men into the air, and including a crooked throw and two more which eluded James Ryan, Ireland effectively lost five of their first eight throws. Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe; Sexton (capt), Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; Baird, Ryan; O'Mahony, van der Flier, Doris.

Scoring: 0-5 Ryan try; 5-5 Varney try; 7-5 Garbisi con; 7-10 Keenan try; 7-12 Byrne con; 10-12 Garbisi pen; 10-17 Aki try; 10-19 Byrne con; 10-24 Hansen try; 15-24 Bruno try; 17-24 Garbisi; 20-24 Garbisi pen; 20-27 Byrne pen; 20-32 Hansen try; 20-34 Byrne con But fair play to Italy, they gave it to us, but fair play to our boys for digging in deep as well.” An estimated 24,000 travelled over from Ireland, and while there was a strong contingent of Springbok supporters it still looked about four to one in Irish tops. Unlike the Aviva, even Ireland’s Call thundered around the cantilever stands.I’m 100 per cent sure there are some individuals that will take the field saying to themselves that this a big chance and big opportunity for me,” said Farrell during the week. “You’ve got to surround those people with good enough experienced players as well to be able to judge them properly, so we’re looking forward to that.”

They might have had more, but after successfully going to the corner and launching Aki, Ryan was forced into a fumble. At half-time it was only 7-3, but the crowd responded as if watching an epic. Replacements: Luca Bigi, Federico Zani, Marco Riccioni, Edoardo Iachizzi, Giovanni Pettinelli, Alessandro Fusco, Luca Morisi, Tommaso Allan Rugby today is a game of inches. Do I think we could have won that game? Yes I do. But we didn’t. That’s all there is to it.” SCORING SEQUENCE – 6 mins: Libbok pen, 3-0; 33: Hansen try, Sexton con, 3-7 ( half-time, 3-7); 51: Kolbe try, 8-7; 59: Sexton pen, 8-10; 77: Crowley pen, 8-13.

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Robbie Henshaw and Rob Herring tries either side of Sheehan's second of the game ensured Ireland's first Grand Slam in five years, and first won in Dublin.

The reality is, this is our third game of the competition and we expect it to be our best performance of the competition. That's how it should be and that's what we are aiming for." Former Ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip on Radio 5 Live: "It's a great day for the Irish. They are a special group with a different mindset to the past. They are comfortable with being the number one side in the world." Ireland's route to the Grand SlamThe absence of Sexton hands James Ryan the captaincy, and Garry Ringrose misses his chance to win his 50th cap with a late injury. Andy Farrell's side set a new national record of eight straight Six Nations wins, surpassing the seven-game streak they set between 2004 and 2005 Replacements: Ox Nche (Sharks) for Kitshoff, RG Snyman (Munster) for Mostert, Jean Kleyn (Munster) for Etzebeth, Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) for Weisse (all 49 mins); Marco van Staden (Bulls) for Kolisi (52), Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92) for Malherbe (63); Deon Fourie (Stormers) for Mbonambi (64); Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) for De Klerk (75). We’re obviously very pleased to come away with a bonus point win,” he concluded. “I thought we showed great character because we were under the cosh a little bit. Here are the teams for tonight’s game in the Aviva. Several Irish players playing for a spot on the World Cup squad.

Former England captain Matt Dawson on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm proud of the way England fronted up but they gave away far too many penalties. Farrell dismissed the notion he has shaken things up "for the sake of it" and expects his Grand Slam-chasing side to produce their best display of the competition so far. While Sexton's record-breaking penalty settled a few nerves, Sheehan's score produced a massive roar from the Aviva crowd, the hooker crossing after a well-worked set-piece that saw Josh van der Flier breaking from a line-out maul.

New Zealand have a few ghosts in their machine, with some of their ageing players not as evergreen as those on the other team and a level of performance that has been strong but just below the very best. Ironically, they would do well to take inspiration from one of their famous defeats: England in the 2019 semi, where a strong but unfancied team came up against a juggernaut and ran it off the road. More simply, they may just remind themselves that they absolutely battered today’s opponents in the QF the week before. The full-time whistle was greeted with Irish celebrations at a jubilant Aviva Stadium as the home side delivered on their immense promise, having entered the competition as the world's number one side.