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. A lot of the pre-match talk in Ireland had revolved around Ross Byrne, standing in for captain Johnny Sexton. He did perfectly well, although Ireland certainly missed Sexton’s reassuring presence. 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."

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.” And what do they need to seal the grand slam? “I think an overall performance … definitely on the discipline side of things … that’s one big thing we talked about the whole week … I can certainly say I was one of them who wasn’t disciplined.” Speaking specifically of Byrne, he continued: "He's been great. He's earned the right to run the team and transfer everything that we have seen in training to a performance that's got authority and takes his team with him." Some win. Cue Zombie by the Cranberries, which will be how many will have already felt by then and certainly by later into the Parisian night. It was both draining and emotional. Is this the best Italy team he has faced, Clarke asks Aki: “They have always been a good team, they play with a lot of passion, you can see they want to play the game, they want to play expansive rugby and run the ball from the own try-line … we knew that, we just fell off a bit.”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.

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.” 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. 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 Rugby World Cup: ‘I’ve never, ever seen a crowd like that’; Irish Zombie army takes Paris by storm ] The loss of Finlay Bealham to a twisted knee in the first half was a blow. With Tadhg Furlong already out injured, Ireland’s tighthead reserves are certainly being stretched. But this is what Farrell wanted in a World Cup year - the chance to prove that Ireland are not reliant on Sexton, or Furlong, or anyone.

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Byrne will deputise for injured Leinster team-mate Johnny Sexton in the No 10 jersey while Casey comes in for fellow Munster man Conor Murray. The fledgling pair have combined well from the bench in victories over Wales and France in the opening two rounds of the tournament and Farrell expects more of the same at Stadio Olimpico. With Sheehan having given Ireland a much-needed shot in the arm, things went from bad to worse for England on the cusp of half-time when Steward was sent off after colliding with Hugo Keenan. Paul O’Connell has spoken of how he loves watching this Irish team problem solve, although one wonders how much he enjoyed the first quarter, after which Ireland certainly had plenty of problems. The Boks cranked up the heat in typically ferocious manner in every facet of the game. While the Irish scrum gave one indirect penalty and one direct penalty for early engagements, they never conceded an inch. But the lineout was a different story altogether.

But Ireland managed to regain control and exerted enough pressure to prise open holes in the English defence, with Henshaw able to slip through before Sheehan's second score seemingly put the hosts out of England's reach. Ireland break English resistance to seal famous win Henshaw's try alleviated tension as the centre touched down to move Ireland 17-9 clear But fair play to Italy, they gave it to us, but fair play to our boys for digging in deep as well.” 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 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).Ian Foster’s NZ starting team has six changes, with Ethan de Groot, Ardie Savea, Aaron Smith, Rieko Ioane, and Scott and Beauden Barrett all recalled. In contrast, Ireland will now approach the World Cup later this year with relish as they look to progress past the quarter-finals of rugby's quadrennial showpiece for the first time. 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 Slam Paolo Garbisi then reduced the deficit to four points with a penalty early in the second half. The Stadio Olimpico sniffed a major upset. Farrell started chewing his fingers. South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth is held up by Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson Park of Ireland. Photograph: Dave Winter/Inpho

Replacements: Tom Stewart (Ulster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Cian Prendergast (Connacht), Caolin Blade (Connacht), Ciarán Frawley (Leinster), Calvin Nash (Munster).But it remained a one score game until 10 minutes to go, man-of-the-match Hansen scoring his second try of the contest. Ireland: H Keenan; M Hansen, B Aki, S McCloskey (J O'Brien 73), J Lowe; R Byrne (J Crowley 78), C Casey (C Murray, 65); A Porter (D Kilcoyne 65), R Kelleher (D Sheehan 56), F Bealham (T O'Toole 36); I Henderson (R Baird 53), J Ryan; C Doris, J Van der Flier, J Conan (P O'Mahony 56) Welcome to the Aviva Stadium for our live blog of Ireland’s opening game in the Bank of Ireland Nations Series – the first of three warm-up matches on the road towards next month’s World Cup in France.