The atmosphere at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome grows as Italy prepare to face Eddie O'Sullivan's Ireland

Shane Horgan is tackled by Roland de Marigny and Gonzalo Canale as Ireland try to break through solid Italian defence

Italy take a 3-0 lead but Ireland respond through Ronan O'Gara's penalty and Geordan Murphy's well worked try

The inspirational Brian O'Driscoll pulls most of the strings for Ireland as they reach half-time with a slender 8-6 lead

O'Driscoll slices through the heart of the Italian defence to set up a try for Peter Stringer in the 49th minute

Luciano Orquera looks for space as Italy manage to match Ireland for long periods with the score 12-18 after 60 minutes

Denis Hickie scores the last of Ireland's three tries after good work from O'Driscoll to give the visitors a 26-12 lead

Martin Castrogiovanni's try makes the final score 17-28 but Ireland are more concerned with O'Driscoll's hamstring injury