The blustery conditions and some inept refereeing made sure Ireland were in no position to rack up a succession of scores.

LET'S indulge ourselves in colloquialism. The word berry is used to describe a woman who has a body like Halle but a face like Chuck. This Italian team is a berry. The pack is the business but unfortunately what they have from nine to 15 is more ugly than Uffizi. Ireland found it very tough at times to deal with this Italian pack whose propensity to frustrate was ably demonstrated yesterday. It is a matter of regret that Ireland's scrap for a share of the championship is now over.

England's conquerors needed a minimum of a 45point margin from yesterday's encounter to ensure that when Clive Woodward's side do them a favour in Paris they will have sufficient points in the bank. Ireland will finish with eight points but won't have enough in the differential column and Italy, even though they lost 19-3, will consider that a minor victory. It was no more than they deserved.

Ireland were never going to lose this game and margin would always be the key. But it was unfortunate from Ireland's perspective that they had to deal with a number of issues which you can never factor in in your normal gameplan. First off were the conditions. Both teams had to contend with what they say on the northside is a 'swur-luhr'.

Of all the times I've played at Lansdowne Road or watched a match here, I've never seen a more unpredictable wind.

It meant that if you were chasing the game for tries and looking for a little bit of width, to make sure the ball went straight and direct you would have to force the pass.

This destroyed any cadence in the Irish back line and very often O'Gara would have to dither because his partner's passing, through no fault of his own, would not come to the point where he most expected it. As a result, all the runners outside had to stop and check and this ruined any depth of running lines and it also meant that, on a number of occasions where Ireland had advantage, they lost it to the wind.

Ireland were not helped either by a very ineffectual performance by Mr Kelvin Deaker. The New Zealander, quite apart from having a Super 12 influence on the game, gave a very good impression of one of those English prima donna pingmeisters which the southern hemisphere sides are always giving out about. In the first quarter when Ireland were beginning to impose their will, particularly at maul time, Mr Deaker's malign influence interfered with Ireland's machinations.

In the 14th minute Ireland got their maul going and after three resets when it changed direction Hayes and O'Kelly were heading over the line.

Cristian Stoica came in, not from the side but from behind the Irish maul, and tackled the Irish just as they were going over the line. It was a penalty try and at the very least a yellow card for Stoica. Three minutes later, Ireland got their phalanx going again off an Easterby take.

Fabio Ongaro again came in from behind the Irish maul and pulled it down as it was three yards from the line. Again, another penalty try. This time Mr Deaker was troubled to give Ongaro a yellow card. Two tries went abegging.

Ten minutes later Italy's scrum, a man down with the temporary departure of Ongaro, were being shunted back over their own line. Aaron Persico broke his bind and interfered with Anthony Foley as he was about to pick up the ball. Foley knocked it on and another penalty try went abegging.

Mr Deaker never dealt with any of the lazy runners who constantly ran back between Peter Stringer and his intended target either. This was also a penalty and yellow card offence.

But worst of all the referee himself was the worst culprit, constantly positioning himself badly and getting in the way where you could not fail to know where the next point of play would be. Mr Deaker also neglected to deal with the Italian forwards' propensity for bringing down Ireland's advancing maul. If the match had been refereed by his countryman Mr Paul Honiss, Ireland could have been 25 points up at half time and had the bit between their teeth going into the second half looking for a big margin.

The start of the match was almost Shakespearean. Ireland were oddly gathered in their half not expecting an orthodox kick-off. They knew what the Italians intended to do. It is quite possible that they were actually told what was going to happen. De Marigny tapped the ball two yards forward and then picked the ball up and kicked it directly to touch to make sure Ireland could not play it.

They wanted to gain the benefit of a psychological advantage by having a cut at Ireland's scrum from the off, just to let Ireland know that the Italian pack were a capable bunch at scrum time and that they would like to shunt Ireland off their ball. It never happened, as Ireland stood firm and got a penalty almost immediately. It would have been interesting if O'Gara had actually got the penalty whether Italy would have tried the same tactic again.

So it was dramatic stuff that they could seek to impose themselves through the scrum from the start.

In the first half there was a fair degree of posturing and hypothesising by both packs but for the first 55 Ireland were in control. Italy then managed to wreck the initiative but their halves never had the craft or the skill to keep Italy in Ireland's half and they never could ? even though they spent a good portion of the time trying ? dwell long enough in the Irish 22. Even if they had Liam Lawlor playing for them they wouldn't have got planning permission for a dwelling of any kind. Ireland's defence, although pushed, and pushed hard at times, managed to deal comfortably with most of the Italian promptings. Italy will be a difficult proposition next year as well but Ireland will come fortified with the knowledge that they are Triple Crown champions.