A final-day defeat to France in Rome left them bottom of the table, having lost every game for the fourth year in a row. To make matters worse, it extended their losing run in the competition to 22 matches, a new tournament record.However, behind the unpleasant statistics was a commendable performance that could – and arguably should – have ended their losing run as they squandered numerous golden chances.
Belief in the Irishman’s project remains strong and the success of Benetton, who last season became the first Italian club to reach the Pro14 play-offs, provided evidence of good work being done behind the scenes. Their warm-up matches did little to inspire confidence as they fell to heavy defeats away to Ireland, France and England, although they comfortably beat Russia at home.