Ireland Secure Late Losing Bonus Point Against Italy

A record crowd of 6,605 at the RDS cheered loudly as Ireland started brightly and finished with a late surge that secured a losing bonus point thanks to a Katie Corrigan try.

Scott Bemand’s side will rue a series of handling errors that ceded momentum to Italy, the eventual 27-21 winners. The Azzurre weathered the early Irish pressure and survived a yellow card to build a 15-7 half-time lead.

The visitors went 15 points up at one stage, aided by player-of-the-match Vittoria Vecchini’s second try, but Ireland hit back with a maul try from Neve Jones and a late intercept score from teenager Corrigan.