Captain Keilan Doris admitted Ireland “forced things” in their efforts to put pressure on their Guinness Six Nations rivals during their shaky 22-17 win over Italy.
Simon Easterby's side temporarily moved top of the table thanks to a narrow success in Rome, picking up bonus points, but England's convincing 68-14 win over Wales then ended their hopes of a third successive title.
Ireland, whose Grand Slam title dream was shattered by a crushing 42-27 home defeat to France last weekend, needed a convincing performance at a packed Stadio Olimpico to keep their chances of winning the top prize alive.
Supported by around 30,000 spectators, they put in a lacklustre performance as back-to-back champions and could easily have suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of an Azzurri side plagued by injuries and a lack of discipline.
“First of all, it had a lot to do with the result, but maybe there was a sense that when we started to get going, given how the first 20-30 minutes went, we wanted to take our chances when they came,” Doris said.
“And perhaps it was connected with some imposition of the situation.
“There were quite a few final passes that didn’t reach the players, or a few redundant passes that weren’t completed – there were plenty of examples of that.
“Why? Yeah, maybe we rushed things a little bit. I'm not sure.”
Hugo Keenan's goal cancelled out an early strike from Azzurri striker Monti Ioane before hooker Dan Sheehan's hat-trick turned the tide in the visitors' favour.
However, midfielder Jack Crowley, who started in place of Sam Prendergast, missed three of his four attempts to convert the ball, leaving the game tense.
A try from Stephen Varney, complemented by seven points from Tommaso Allan, heightened the tension before Ireland managed to hold on until the final whistle, when the retired Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray made farewell cameos.
Pro Sian Healy is an Irish international
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
