Weather the talking point for one and all

Met Éireann could have delivered the post mortem. As the players huddled for protection in the bowels of the West Stand at Lansdowne Road, the wind that had assailed them on the pitch resembling a vortex offered, in the empty corridor, a lingering reminder of the conditions.

You could take your choice of adjectives to describe the gales that buffeted the players during Saturday's RBS Six Nations Championship match, but there was common accord among the Irish players: none had encountered such a handicap to handling or kicking.

Geordan Murphy, restored to the national side for the first time since breaking his leg in a World Cup warm-up game against Scotland at Murrayfield, admitted: "I've never played in conditions like that. It was very unusual with the wind in terms of trying to gauge which way the ball would go. Playing with it was unbelievably difficult, even to do simple things like pass the ball.

"It was a little bit easier into the wind; you can hold your depth a little more. It was so difficult to kick the ball that we ended up having to run it. The (Italian) boys are big and strong and conditions suited them. It was a little bit hairy going into that second half with so few points but our goal for the week was to get the win and we did that."

Gordon D'Arcy was even less enthusiastic about the weather. "It wasn't fun. The old cliché that it was a game of two halves was wrong. The only difference was that you had a howling gale at your back first and then turned to play into the teeth of the wind. It was easier to pass in the second half but it's harder to run into wind.

"Balls that were just a yard away from you would dip or move. It was a nightmare. There weren't that many handling errors but you did have to rely on individuals to make breaks rather than structured moves. You were almost stationary taking the ball because it was so difficult to track it in the wind. It meant trying to go from a standing start."

Murphy was reasonably pleased with his return to the international stage.Whatever nerves he encountered prior to the kick-off, it hadn't affected his sense of humour. "During the week I kept thinking that I had forgotten something and I mentioned it to David Humphreys, who said, 'probably how to play the game.' I said, 'that's probably it.' I was a little nervous.

"Rog (Ronan O'Gara) put me in the game pretty early, which was important for me. I made a little bit of a break but was annoyed that I got tackled. I was looking to score and a bit disappointed that I didn't. I didn't think I'd see as much ball as I did in the conditions. There's quite a bit of work to be done."

He may not be consciously easing himself back but he hasn't quite recaptured the joie de vivre of his pre-injury days, hardly a surprise given the short time he's been back in a competitive environment. He's not going at full throttle, something that struck when watching him turn to chase a chip from Denis Dallan.

Nicola Mazzucato seemed to jump out of the blocks quicker in pursuit of a ball that bounced over the dead-ball line. Murphy smiles: "I would have got back there. I was confident that Mazzucato didn't have the legs on me. We were a bit short defensively so Girv (Girvan Dempsey) had to step up because there was a three-on-two.

"I got up flat so Dallan chipped the ball in behind. I was confident I was going to get there. I don't know if you guys were but I was."

Conditions weren't the only thing that precluded Ireland from making a bigger impression on the scoreboard, as D'Arcy explained: "They (the Italians) were very physical, looking to make big hits all the time, be that just as you received the ball or just after or if they caught you, the second guy in would be trying to bang the ball loose." This in some way goes to explain another limping exit for Ireland's rising young star.

It was time to look forward. Scotland come to Lansdowne Road on Saturday aware that they will be firm underdogs on a day when Ireland are expected to deliver the Triple Crown. For Murphy it is apposite that there is a Scottish connection. The nadir of last season, a broken leg at Murrayfield, to be replaced by more pleasant associations if things go right at the weekend.

"This is a huge opportunity for the players; 19 years is a long, long time. It is a good Irish squad but there is a huge responsibility. I hope that conditions are a bit better next week so we can play the game that we practised all week."