Ireland (9) 36 / Italy (6) 6 (Final Score)

Ireland and Italy did battle in the final Pool Game of Rugby World Cup 2011, in Dunedin 09:30 SA Time (20:30 NZ Time).

This was the live match discussion Article.

The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & CSN on TV in SA.

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At Halftime it was still anybody’s game, Italy only 3 points adrift, but in the second half the Irish game flourished and the Italian game floundered. 3 Tries eventually for Ireland in the second stanza, taking Irealand out to a 30-point win.

The Quarter Finals now loom large, with some monsterous battles ahead, none more so than Ireland vs Wales and the Springboks vs the Wallabies!

Scorers:

Ireland:

• Penalties – Ronan O’Gara (4), Jonathan Sexton (1)
  
• Drop Goals – 0
• Tries – Brian O’Driscoll (1), Keith Earls (2)
  
• Conversions – Ronan O’Gara (2), Jonathan Sexton (1)
  

Italy:

• Penalties – Mirco Bergamasco (2)
• Drop Goals – 0
• Tries – 0
• Conversions – 0

Teams:

Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O’Driscoll (captain), 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O’Gara, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O’Connell, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Jonathan Sexton, 22 Andrew Trimble.

Italy: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Cornelius van Zyl, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Edoardo Gori, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Luke McLean.

Date: Sunday2 October
Venue: Otago Stadium, Dunedin
Kick-off: 09:30 SA Time (20:30 NZ Time)
Expected weather: Mainly fine, though isolated showers are possible. High of 16°C, low of 9°C
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)