IRISH INJURY CONCERNS AFTER EASY WIN
ROBBIE Henshaw ran in two tries but trudged off the Aviva Stadium field with his right arm in a sling as Ireland thumped Italy 56-19 in the Natwest 6 Nations.
Tadhg Furlong limped out after just three minutes with a left hamstring injury, joining Henshaw as a doubt to take any further part in the tournament.
Jacob Stockdale also bagged a brace, with Conor Murray, Bundee Aki, Keith Earls and Rory Best all crossing as Ireland racked up eight tries.
Tommaso Allan, Edoardo Gori and Matteo Minozzi hit back late for Italy, but the visitors had already been easily overwhelmed by Ireland’s starting XV.
Henshaw was at the centre of everything for Ireland before he was forced off early in the second half and his partnership with Aki was a constant thorn in the side of an often stretched Italy backline.
Earls ran in the bonus-point score after just 34 minutes as Ireland took complete control against an over-matched Italian side. Flanker Dan Leavy earned the turnover and the ball worked its way back to Aki, who stepped inside his man before breaking clear of the Italy backline and his perfectly-weighted pass to Earls allowed the winger to sprint into the corner unopposed.
“Itwasgoodattimes,we started well, got a few scores early on,” Earls said of the comfortable win.
“We were a bit sloppy in the second half.
“We are happy with the win but will always find something to improve on.”