Ireland secured an essential victory over Italy last weekend to keep their Six Nations title chances alive, but they were far from convincing.
While Andy Farrell may be concerned that his side were only narrowly able to secure the win, he, along with many Munster fans, will have been pleased to see Edwin Edogbo put in a fine performance off the bench.
It was Edogbo’s first cap for his country after performing consistently, when not injured, for his province at club level, and he will have been full of pride to wear the green of Ireland.
However, there was shock and condemnation as the IRFU were forced to turn off the comments on their Instagram post marking the occasion after heinous racist abuse.
Paolo Odogwu was involved for the Italians as Edogbo secured his first win for Ireland, with the winger shocked by the aftermath suffered by the young Irish forward.
Advert
Both players are of Nigerian descent and were among four that were involved with heritage from that African nation when Ireland and Italy squared off last weekend in Dublin.
In an interview with Rugby Pass, the Italian international said: “I saw it on Instagram and thought, how is this still happening?
“It’s not like he’s just shown up from a different country and been capped. He’s been there the whole time; he’s as Irish as he can be, but just because he’s black they’re like, 'Nah, not one of us’.
“I don’t understand why you do that to one of your own players who should have had one of the best days of his life, and it’s just been ruined. He’s going to have that in his head the rest of his career. Then having the Vinicius Jr thing happen three days after. You think it’s going so far one way and things are really good, and then… nah, there are still idiots out there.
“I thought, how cool, we’ve got four people in an Ireland v Italy game who are of Nigerian heritage. Me, David Odiase, Edwin and Cormac Izuchukwu. You can see the diversity spreading into two countries which aren’t necessarily that diverse. You are making it into this professional sports environment, and it’s such a big deal. Literally 10 hours afterwards that happens.”
Paolo Odogwu focused on the French Challenge
The 29-year-old has had to move away from the disappointment of the defeat to Ireland last weekend, as he is set to face France this weekend when Italy travel to Lille to earn their first victory since 2013 against Les Bleus.
Odogwu has been named among the replacements for the match as they look to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive with a win, as a defeat will mean any outside chance of lifting the trophy for the first time will disappear.
Should Italy cause a serious upset in northern France, they will also end the hosts’ chances of winning a Grand Slam, which is enough motivation for the English-born winger.
He said: “We have had a good start; the pack has been smashing it, the backline is doing well, but can we kick on? This is the biggest challenge we’ve had yet and probably the biggest one we’ll have in the tournament.”
Topics: Rugby, Rugby Union, Italy
Brendan McGilligan