A trip down an Ireland v Italy memory lane.
It’s Ireland v Italy at the Aviva Stadium on Landsdowne Road this Saturday in the Six Nations. Ireland first played Italy in the Six Nations back in 2000 and we’ve beaten them every time they’ve come to Dublin.
Since 2000, we’ve beaten them at the old Landsdowne Road, Croke Park and of course, the Aviva. This gallery shows you some of the best shots of our battles against the Azzurri over the years. There have been one or two tight battles, but by and large, Ireland have been convincing winners.
It was also the fixture that the legendary Brian O’Driscoll played his last ever match for Ireland.
Let’s hope we are not relying on a certain Mr Sexton having to do this again.
2000: Shane Horgan scores a try as Ireland beat Italy 60-13 at Landsdowne Road
2000: Peter ‘The Claw’ Clohessy on the rampage
2002: John Kelly scores on his debut as Ireland beat Italy 32-17 at Landsdowne Road
2002: Dennis Hickie tries to evade some tough Italian tackling
2004: A highlighted Brian O Driscoll is tackled by Marco Bortolami. Ireland won 19-3
2004: Peter Stringer offloads to his partner in crime, Ronan O’Gara
2006: Simon Easterby soars to claim a line-out at Landsdowne as Ireland win 26-16
2006: Tommy Bowe crashes over for an Irish try
2008: Mick O’Driscoll claims a line-out in front of Hill 16 at Croke Park. Ireland won 16-11
2008: David Wallace takes on the Italian pack
2010: Tomas O’Leary goes over for a try at Croke Park as Ireland win 29-11
2010: Leo Cullen challenging at the lineout
2012: Peter O’Mahony navigates a rolling maul at the Aviva. Ireland won 42-10
2012: Paul O’Connell leading from the front
2014: Brian O’Driscoll’s last ever match in the green jersey. Ireland win 46-7
2014: One last break from the Irish legend, Brian O’Driscoll
2016: Jamie Heaslip dives over the line at the Aviva. Ireland win 58-15
2016: Simon Zebo on the charge
Images: Sportsfile
