Ireland continued their rapid progression towards the Rugby World Cup this summer with a 54-12 hammering of Italy in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations in Parma.
Scott Bemand’s side are up to third in the championship table following their eight-try victory, which included an Anna McGann hat-trick, and a dominant display in the centre from player of the match Aoife Dalton.
Dalton crossed for the opening Irish try inside two minutes, capitalising on an early Italian yellow card for second row Valeria Federighi, and was a constant threat on both sides of the ball, making nine carries and 15 tackles.
While Ireland did struggle in the first half on setpiece defence, their attack was flowing, and tries for…