Strong winds and lashing rain ensured the afternoon was going to be light on flowing rugby.

The weather should have played into Italys hand and their packs eagerness to get stuck into the Irish was obvious from the start.

Roland de Marigny deliberately mis-hit the kick off so that his forwards would get an early chance to scrum.

But Irelands eight coped admirably and it was the home side who adapted to elements, racking up a 12-0 half-time lead and doing a good job of playing into the wind after the interval.

I knew the weather was going to be bad, but it was far worse than we expected.

Walking around the pitch before the match was an incredible experience and we knew that passing was nearly impossible, said OSullivan.

We wanted to get the ball to the wings early but getting it beyond scrum-half was impossible.

"Battling away with Italy up-front is not the best way to beat them but we did very well.