READ HIS VERDICT FROM SOLDIER FIELD

TADHG BEIRNE was the one that got away – but only for a bit. His displays for the Scarlets through last season made supporters here wistful as they watched his talent emerge, even as Ireland powered to the Grand Slam.

Much wants more, and it was clear he was good enough technically to freshen discussions about national selection. That he could play in the second row and at blindside flanker deepened the attraction.

He has worked his way into the rhythm of Munster’s season and the next demand was to impress when given a chance by Joe Schmidt.

Three quarters of an hour into his first start for his country, he had scored two tries.

Besides their personal importance to Beirne, they were also proof of a player with the awareness and determination to make the most of a chance.

And opportunities don’t tend to proliferate around successful teams. When the space to get noticed does emerge, it needs to be taken.

Beirne did that in fulfilling his general duties as a lock, as well as his proficiency at the breakdown, but every consideration of this match has to be checked by the pitiful nature of the Italian challenge.

That applies even to the brilliance of Jordan Larmour. But he crossed the Atlantic already a feature of Ireland’s strongest 23. Next, he will burrow closer to the starting 15. His class is old news by now.

Soldier Field featured heavily in the Eir Sport advertising of the game.

It was like selling a Michael Bublé concert in Croke Park with footage of a hurling final.

The venue aside, the two events had practically nothing in common.

Two years ago, Ireland’s November schedule was shaped around Chicago because New Zealand were the opponents.

In 2018, the plans orbit November 17, and the arrival of the world champions in Lansdowne Road.

Soldier Field was momentous in 2016 because of the opposition.

Last night, the opposition was cat, and for half an hour in the opening period, Ireland were complacent and consequently under pressure.

Between the two sides, they managed not an epic but a mess that begat a rout.

The first 10 minutes suggested Ireland could win by 70 points. We knew before the game began they were fitter and more skilful but thought there would be at least half a match of rugby played before the fissures between the teams emerged.

But Jacob Stockdale picked his way around Italian mannequins in running back the Italian kick off, and a minute later Garry Ringrose eluded some awful attempted tackles, too.

Beirne mullocked over for that opening Irish score after four and a half minutes and the early movements of the contest promised Ireland scores from near in, far out, from wherever they fancied.

Then the lull came and the value of this match to Schmidt became more apparent. He was getting to see players who will be absolutely convinced they are good enough to play at the next World Cup, have to absorb this unexpected churn and find a dominant course again.

For the rest of the first half, Ireland failed to do so. Luke McGrath’s try was a reminder of their superiority, but the intercept score by Michele Campagnaro a deserved punishment for their carelessness, too.

It brought a dull first half to a lively close, but it will also have left Irish hopefuls heading for Schmidt and the dressing room knowing getting pitched into the doldrums carries consequences.

That Rhys Ruddock was the player whose pass was filched by Campagnaro’s opportunism will have deepened the frustration that must have followed him into the interval.

He is a player whose importance is more apparent to coaches and teammates than supporters, the ideal pro of stereotype.

When fit, he is never far from Leinster’s starting XV.

Matters with Ireland are more complicated, thanks mainly to the existence of Peter O’Mahony, but Ruddock is a player highly valued by Schmidt.

If he avoids the injuries that have crippled his ambitions so often in the past, he will go to the World Cup.

Luke McGrath had no turbulence to overcome. In selecting him to start ahead of John Cooney, Schmidt gave a boost to the Leinster player’s ambitions, even if the decision to leave Kieran Marmion in Ireland indicated a prominent place in the coaches’ thoughts for the Connacht player.

Joey Carbery was the figure to whom most of the build-up coverage was devoted, but he had less to play for than most of his teammates.

He was Johnny Sexton’s understudy last season, and his tremendous start to a new career in Munster has consolidated his position.

Here, he kicked penalties up the line and combined fluidly enough with McGrath.

Niall Scannell was a surprising inclusion in the touring party and was replaced at half time by Sean Cronin. That seemed less about the minutiae of his own display as the determination to rotate.

But for a player like Scannell, who is good enough to displace Rory Best from the starting side, this has to count as an opportunity that slipped by.

This is not a game that will be remembered the way the last Irish match at Soldier Field has been.

If Joe Schmidt saw anything here that makes him reassess plans for New Zealand, it will be tempered by Italian failings, but will probably involve Tadhg Beirne. And Rob Kearney will have retired to his bed with the vapour trails left by Larmour streaked across his thoughts.

THE LULL CAME AND THE VALUE OF THIS MATCH TO SCHMIDT BECAME CLEAR