Gladiators in green get thumbs up

It was a match befitting the historic home of the unequal sporting contest. Though, to be honest, even the most fervent Lions v Christians fan might have found this one a bit lacking in competitive edge by comparison. After a few minutes it was clear that Ireland were in for the kind of runaway victory from which it's very difficult to draw any significant conclusions. You can't really claim this game 'answered the critics' or represented a 'return to form'. When Italy play like this, any of the Irish provinces would be disappointed not to beat them well. Nero did a better job as a fireman.