RWC23 Warmups - Ireland v Italy, Sat 5th Aug, KO 8PM - TV: RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, Amazon Prime Video

Re-watched the game last night with an absence of beer, children and hopes and/or dreams of a Jimmy O'Brien hat-trick. There's a lot you don't see on first watch.

Our first half performance was really good particularly the pack in the loose. They didn't cover themselves in glory at the set piece (2 scrum pens conceded and 1 sloppy maul pen on their line) but the carrying and ability to attack soft shoulders to get over the gain line repeatedly was very impressive from guys like Henderson, McCarthy, Baird and Conan. Baird was much better than I thought on second watch. His hands to get the ball to Earls off his left was the sort of pass some centres couldn't make.

Props went ok. TOT was more prominent. More willing to mix play up and move the ball. Was able to pull a pass out the backdoor at least once in midfield which is what we've become used to seeing with Furlong. Kilcoyne got his hands on the ball a good bit but wasn't as varied in his play. Very much head down and go. It worked well on a couple of occasions but he was smashed once leading to a turnover.

Locks were a very strong unit for us in all facets really. Probably edging the halfbacks as the best unit on the field overall. They barely put a foot wrong. Both carried strongly, defended well and made some big plays. McCarthy obviously stole one line out going to ground but sacked another when he tried to do the same. Henderson had some big carries and looked sharp.

Backrow was solid. Very much a different dynamic after Conan went off. He had been the go to guy in carrying and was popping up everywhere before leaving. He was carrying that injury for at least 10 minutes before departing. Doris was very good throughout. His performance was food for thought as we've always been told that he is taken out of the game when moved from 8 but he was very good when at 7 and, even when he moved, his eye catching contributions weren't really significant carries although he was getting his hands on the ball more. Prendergast probably needed to do more overall but was more prominent than I thought when watching live. His offload ahead of the Doris try to nearly put Blade in would be getting a lot more coverage if Doris or POM had done it.

Halfbacks were very good in the first half. Crowley was quite tentative in the opening 10-15 minutes. He actually looked a lot like Ross Byrne. Was taking some ball static and passing it with his feet planted. But after we got on top, he seemed to relax and found his rhythm. Some nice kicks with the boot, one lovely half break and one nice floated pass out to JOB on the wing. Hard to assess the second half performance as he was shifting between 10, 12 and 15 when we were in possession but he was far more influential when just left at 10. He needs to protect the ball better in contact though. Spilled it at least twice (three times actually I think although I reckon one should have been a penalty for him).

Casey looked really sharp. The talk will be of Crowley but I thought Casey was the better of the two (and Crowley was good). Passed really well, made decent decisions for the most part and even kicked fairly well. Milked a yellow card which really ended the Italian resistance. Don't think his squad place was ever in doubt beforehand but he's absolutely travelling now to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if Blade doesn't get another run.

Midfield wasn't great. Henshaw's greatest contribution was a neck roll when we were likely to score a try. McCloskey was a mixed bag. He was smashed in contact early on leading to a turnover, spilled an inside pass from JOB that he wasn't ready for and was generally quiet. The try seemed to spark him but, more than that, I think Conan going off meant that McCloskey became the go to guy for gain line success. It allowed him be far more prominent and get the ball in slightly wider positions where he was eating up yards. Overall, probably didn't further his case but absolutely rescued himself from going backwards overall, I think.

Back three was a very mixed back. JOB was tidy. Was at first receiver a couple of times and actually threw a nice flat pass to put forwards on the gain line a couple of times. Could see his background as a 10 coming out. Also slipped Stockdale away down the near side with a lovely flat pass to the blindside when coming from deep. Would have to think he's on the plane now if not so already.

I didn't understand the Stockdale grief upon first watch and I understand it even less now. The guy was everywhere. Yes, he made some errors. The missed tackle was a horrible effort. He got scragged into touch returning a kick and then made a crazy decision to try and run out of his 22 before his power got him out of trouble (he still lost significant territory with a mediocre kick to touch). But his ability to get around the field, get hands on the ball and threaten the line was really positive. You don't make 176m with ball in hand and have a bad game unless you're making absolute howlers throughout the game. His win in the air was superb. Chased from deep and in off his wing, timing it perfectly. When Italy spilled the ball ultimately leading to our first try, it was Stockdale who snaffled it. When Italy moved the ball wide and had us stretched in the final seconds, it was Stockdale who made the read to come out and kill the play (knocked on in the tackle but it stopped them dead). There probably isn't another winger in Ireland that could be mauled forward for a 10-15m gain and still get the ball away like he did at one point. He also got a bit of stick for not passing to Tom Stewart on a break down the wing. On replay from the angle behind them, he was absolutely correct not to pass. Stewart had a man coming across to bury him. There was also the sub Italian full back chasing across who would easily have taken Stewart down too. Instead, Stockdale went inside, reset and Doris scored a couple of phases later. If he gives that pass, Stewart has 15-20m and a couple of defenders who shake off or he's going into touch.

Earls didn't have one of his better days. Just didn't really click for him at all. He played sensible stuff, looking to come inside and get back to support when he got hands on the ball (and he actually did get a lot of ball, 16 times) but didn't make much of it. Put a lovely grubber through for JOB that would have been great if JOB had won the race. Whilst Stockdale made errors, he was able to balance that out by making so many contributions around the field. Earls made errors but his carries were far more neutral. He was ripped in contact early on (TOT grabbed it) and spilled a pass shortly after. Showed nice hands a couple of times to connect with the man outside including the one where Stockdale got away in the second half with Stewart outside but that was probably his best moment. Gave away a penalty for a high tackle and had a poor tackle effort for the second try.

All in all, an ok performance. I could see why Farrell looked tetchy in the coaching box throughout. There was some good play and performances but plenty of sloppy play too and our discipline was ragged (Baird, Henshaw, Doris and Earls with unnecessary penalties for high tackles, neck rolls and maul offences).

It will be interesting to see what he does for England now. Likely to be a stronger side given only Doris and Henshaw were first choice players starting against Italy. But I'll be curious to see what fringe guys get to stake a claim amongst those front liners. Osborne, Coombes and Treadwell have no game time yet and will want to show their abilities.

Menoncello confirmed as out of the RWC. Tore his bicep. Such an innocuous incident. He just reached out and made very little contact. Didn't even seem hurt for the first couple of seconds.

That's terrible for him, playing in a RWC must be every rugby player's dream.