Ireland produced a sensational attacking display to dismantle Italy 54-12 at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma, scoring eight tries in a record-breaking performance that banished memories of last year’s defeat to the same opposition and marked their first away win in the Women’s Six Nations since 2021.
Key moments:
2′ – Aoife Dalton try after early Italian yellow card, Dannah O’Brien conversion (Italy 0-7 Ireland)
8′ – Anna McGann try following Eve Higgins’ 30-metre break, Dannah O’Brien conversion (Italy 0-14 Ireland)
15′ – Sofia Stefan try with scrum-half break for Italy, conversion missed (Italy 5-14 Ireland)
20′ – Amee-Leigh Costigan try after Eve Higgins’ line break, Dannah O’Brien conversion (Italy 5-21 Ireland)
25′ – Anna McGann second try from Stacey Flood’s assist, Dannah O’Brien conversion (Italy 5-28 Ireland)
54′ – Linda Djougang try from close range, Dannah O’Brien conversion (Italy 5-35 Ireland)
65′ – Dorothy Wall try after powerful carry, conversion missed (Italy 5-40 Ireland)
67′ – Beatrice Rigoni try and conversion for Italy (Italy 12-40 Ireland)
78′ – Brittany Hogan try from tap penalty, Dannah O’Brien conversion (Italy 12-47 Ireland)
80′ – Anna McGann hat-trick try from Aoife Dalton’s assist, Dannah O’Brien conversion (Italy 12-54 Ireland)
Scott Bemand’s side, looking to bounce back from their opening round defeat to France, delivered a commanding display from the first whistle to the last, scoring four tries in each half with winger Anna McGann completing a memorable hat-trick in the final play of the match.
The visitors wasted no time stamping their authority on the contest, benefiting from an early Italian yellow card when second-row Valeria Fedrighi was sent to the sin bin after just 52 seconds for a high tackle on Ireland captain Edel McMahon. The subsequent bunker review confirmed it should remain a yellow card, but the damage was already being done on the scoreboard.
Ireland immediately kicked to the corner and, after the initial maul was repelled, centre Aoife Dalton showed impressive strength to power over in the corner for the opening score with just two minutes on the clock. Dannah O’Brien, who had struggled with her place-kicking in the narrow defeat to France, made no mistake with a difficult conversion from the touchline to settle any nerves and give Ireland a 7-0 lead.
With Italy still a player down, Ireland struck again in the eighth minute. Eve Higgins carved through the heart of the Italian defence with a scintillating 30-metre break before delivering a perfectly timed pass to McGann, who coasted in for her first international XV try. O’Brien’s conversion extended the lead to 14-0, leaving the hosts shell-shocked.
Ireland’s work in the contact area was exemplary in the opening quarter, with flankers Erin King and Aoife Wafer particularly prominent at the breakdown, alongside hooker Neve Jones. Their ability to slow down Italian ball or turn over possession gave Ireland crucial momentum.
Italy briefly rallied midway through the first half when scrum-half Sofia Stefan showcased her individual brilliance, sniping from the base of a scrum on the 22-metre line and wrong-footing the Irish defence to score. Michela Sillari’s conversion attempt struck the post, leaving the score at 14-5 after 15 minutes.
Any hopes of an Italian comeback were quickly extinguished as Ireland demonstrated clinical efficiency in attack. Higgins was again the catalyst, breaking the defensive line before finding Amee-Leigh Costigan on the left wing, who displayed her sevens pedigree with a superb finish in the corner. The try, coming at the 20-minute mark, was converted by O’Brien to stretch the lead to 21-5.
Ireland secured the bonus point before half-time through McGann’s second try in the 25th minute. After powerful carries from Aoife Wafer and Linda Djougang provided the platform, quick hands from O’Brien and Stacey Flood, combined with a clever dummy line from Dalton, created space for McGann to dive over in the corner. O’Brien’s fourth successful conversion gave Ireland a commanding 28-5 lead at the interval.
The visitors’ defensive resilience was highlighted in the final moments of the first half when they repelled sustained Italian pressure on their line. Niamh O’Dowd set the tone with a thunderous tackle that stopped Italy scrum-half Stefan in her tracks, and Dalton made a crucial tackle to hold up Vittoria Vecchini over the line.
This defensive stand before half-time seemed to break Italian spirits and reinforced Ireland’s dominance.
Ireland looked to maintain their momentum after the break, and Aoife Wafer appeared to have scored early in the second half, but the try was disallowed for obstruction at the lineout, with Niamh O’Dowd penalised for blocking.
The setback proved temporary, as Ireland continued to control territory and possession. In the 54th minute, prop Linda Djougang powered over from close range after a well-executed lineout move. O’Brien maintained her excellent form with the boot, adding the extras to extend Ireland’s lead to 35-5.
Djougang’s joy was short-lived, however, as she was shown a yellow card in the 58th minute for a high tackle on Italian fly-half Emma Stevanin. The incident was reviewed by the TMO bunker but remained a yellow card rather than being upgraded to red.
Despite being reduced to 14 players, Ireland’s attacking prowess remained undiminished. Replacement Dorothy Wall, who had made an immediate impact off the bench alongside Brittany Hogan, crashed over for the sixth try after a series of powerful carries in the 65th minute. It marked O’Brien’s first missed conversion of the day, but with the score at 40-5, the result was already beyond doubt.
Italy managed a consolation score through centre Beatrice Rigoni in the 67th minute, who gathered a loose ball before spinning over the line, adding the conversion herself to make it 40-12. However, the score did little to alter the pattern of the game, with Ireland firmly in control.
As the match entered its final stages, Ireland’s superior fitness began to tell. Replacement scrum-half Emily Lane almost added to the score with a searing break, but was tackled just short of the line and knocked on in the process. The chance was not wasted, though, as Brittany Hogan scored from a tap penalty in the 78th minute, barging past several tacklers to touch down. O’Brien returned to form with the conversion, stretching the lead to 47-12.
With the clock in the red, Ireland launched one final attack. Some slick handling from Dalton and O’Brien found replacement prop Christy Haney, who delivered a wonderful pass under pressure to send McGann racing down the wing to complete her hat-trick. O’Brien’s seventh successful conversion of the afternoon brought the final score to 54-12, capping a dominant Irish performance.
The comprehensive victory, Ireland’s first away win in the Women’s Six Nations since 2021, moves them to third in the table ahead of a challenging fixture against England in Cork on 12 April. The 54 points scored represents Ireland’s highest tally in a single Six Nations game since 2015 when they hammered Scotland 73-3 in Cumbernauld.
“It felt unbelievable,” said hat-trick hero McGann afterwards. “It was such a team performance from the start to the very finish. I think we showed real resilience at times, especially at the end of the first half, keeping them out of our try line for about five minutes. It’s just an unbelievable feeling to rewrite the past here in Parma. It’s a new era for us.”
McGann, who has shone this season after finishing as joint second-top try scorer in the Celtic Challenge, was quick to credit her teammates for her three scores. “To be fair, I only dotted down the ball,” she insisted. “The girls did all the hard work. They were full team tries, and it was just class to be a part of it.”
Player of the Match Dalton, who was outstanding throughout with nine carries and 15 tackles alongside her try, echoed McGann’s sentiments: “To come out here today and score 50 points, that’s huge for us. I don’t know if that’s our biggest victory ever, but I’m just delighted for the whole squad, all of the girls, all of our staff, because so much went into this week. We knew we weren’t good enough last week. We’re delighted.”
The 21-year-old centre was quick to share the praise with her teammates after what she described as “a complete team performance”: “I’m definitely not the star in the backline, with all the Sevens girls. I’ll go back and share this with them.”
Coach Bemand was equally delighted with his side’s performance, particularly after the disappointment of last week’s defeat. The Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi holds painful memories for Irish women’s rugby, having been the venue where their Rugby World Cup 2021 qualification hopes were crushed by defeats to Spain and Scotland.
“A couple of years ago there was a result here that meant quite a lot to the Irish people, when we didn’t end up qualifying for the World Cup,” Bemand said. “To come back here and put 50 points on what I think was a good, combative Italy team, that matters to this group and to people who have been here longer than me.”
“We said we’re moving in the right direction and we couldn’t prove that last week with a win. It was really important to go back to the training ground, tidy up some of those pieces, and I think some of the scores today, we took from last week and put things right this week.”
The manner of this victory, Ireland’s highest points tally in a Six Nations match since 2015, will give Bemand’s side genuine belief as they continue their preparations for this summer’s World Cup. After the fallow week, they will face a formidable challenge when they host the six-time defending champions England, who defeated Ireland 88-10 in last year’s fixture at Allianz Stadium.
“We were very frustrated after last week against France,” McGann admitted. “There were multiple times where we could have executed and gotten scores, and we didn’t. So, I think that was a real focus for us this week and I think you could see out there our execution was a lot higher than it was [against France]. There are still things that we want to fix and we will going towards the next game but all in all, quite happy with that.”
For Italy, who defeated Ireland 27-21 in Dublin last year, this was a sobering experience that followed their heavy defeat to England in the opening round. They showed flashes of quality, particularly through Stefan and Rigoni, but were comprehensively outplayed in all areas of the game. They will need to regroup quickly before facing Scotland in Edinburgh on 13 April.
