<pre>tutti i trequarti dell'Irlanda (e di questo, mi sembra che ce ne siamo accorti tutti);<br>tra titolari e riserve praticamente tutti gli avanti dell'Italia, incredibili le parole di elogio a Bortolami. Notevole.
<span id="intelliTXT"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br><br><br></span>15 Girvan Dempsey</b> - The Irish full-back<br>has entered a renaissance period, rising above a tired-looking Geordan<br>Murphy in the pecking order. Not the silky runner Murphy is, but he
<br>brings a little more bite and thrust to his excursions into the<br>three-quarter line, causing all sorts of problems and making all sorts<br>of opportunities for those around him. Even took a couple himself...<br><br>
<br><br><b>14 Sean Lamont</b> - A quiet tournament to begin with, but that<br>try in Paris was confirmation that his huge stride is back to terrorise<br>defences everywhere, and he got through a lot of unsung work coming<br>
into the line off his wing. Imagine what he could do if he had a<br>genuine playmaker at fly-half.<br><br><br><br><b>13 Brian O'Driscoll</b> - Not a lot to say about BOD that hasn't<br>already been said. Absolutely no coincidence that Ireland lost the
<br>crucial game with a try scored through his defensive channel when he<br>wasn't there. Is so revered in Irish rugby circles that pulled<br>hamstrings are now actually seen as stigmata... how Ireland must be<br>praying that his twitchy muscle will relax before September.
<br><br><br><br><b>12 Gordon D'Arcy</b> - Often overshadowed by the rugby deity<br>outside him, D'Arcy has bounced back from the injury that robbed him of<br>the momentum he showed in 2004, and he matched his illustrious partner
<br>step for step in creative genius and strong running this year once<br>more.<br><br><br><br><b>11 Denis Hickie</b> - Another Ireland back to bounce back from a<br>long-term injury, Hickie has carried on the superlative run of form he
<br>came into at the end of last season and is heading for the Rugby World<br>Cup peerless throughout his land. Or any other land in the North.<br><br><br><br><b>10 Ronan O'Gara</b> - Remember these words: 'Kiwis know their
<br>rugby and know a lemon when they see one. O'Gara should have painted<br>himself yellow and jumped into a gin and tonic. His kicking was duff,<br>his tackling was duff and he didn't look like he could run a pack of
<br>girl guides'? Perhaps the author may be asking for the tomato ketchup<br>right about now... Sadly, we were robbed of the chance to watch Ronan<br>shoot down his nemesis Jonny Wilkinson, but the way in which the<br>
fly-half orchestrated the obliteration of England and Italy showed that<br>Munsterman has come a long way from the timid chap who suffered so in<br>2005.<br><br><br><br><b>9 Harry Ellis</b> - This was a particularly close call, as
<br>Alessandro Troncon of Italy merits a mention for the way in which he<br>marshalled, but Ellis offered a little more than just direction, taking<br>the initiative and creating stacks of chances for his team. Sadly for<br>
him, few of his team-mates were on his wavelength.<br><br><br><br><b>8 Sergio Parisse</b> - Another close call, with Denis Leamy<br>close behind, but Parisse's defensive displays when Italy were being<br>rocked, as well as strong running going forward ensure that he sneaks
<br>ahead of the Irishman in the pack.<br><br><br><br><b>7 David Wallace</b> - Evening up the close calls as Italy's<br>Mauro Bergamasco was a close second. But while the Italian hard man<br>blotted his copybook with a punch on Stephen Jones and a below-par
<br>display against France, Wallace stood out all the way through, and kept<br>it largely clean, to become quite an unsung hero of his team. And he's<br>fast isn't he!?<br><br><br><br><b>6 Serge Betsen</b> - Initially, Simon Easterby had this spot all
<br>sewn up, but a couple of late votes swung it the Frenchman's way. Some<br>said he may have slowed up and lost his edge over the past season, but<br>not a bit of it. Every bit the fearless marauding nailsack he was when
<br>he burst onto the scene by doing 'a job' on Jonny Wilkinson six years<br>ago.<br><br><br><br><b>5 Paul O'Connell</b> - Even not at his best all the way through,<br>O'Connell was still ginger head and huge shoulders above the rest.
<br>Where the line-outs faltered, O'Connell made up for it with his<br>work-rate in the loose, marauding around the field like a red-headed<br>yeti.<br><br><br><br><b>4 Marco Bortolami</b> - Italy's captain rarely fails to make the
<br>cut in these reviews, and this year's effort makes it no exception this<br>time. How much of Ireland's line-out ball did Italy pinch, never mind<br>the other teams'? Bortolami will occupy a role in Italian rugby history
<br>similar to that of Agustín Pichot in Argentina and Waisale Serevi in<br>Fiji. But he still has a good few years left to lead the new generation<br>forward yet.<br><br><br><br><b>3 Martin Castrogiovanni</b> - Another shoe-in. Italy are
<br>building a reputation for having a forward pack every bit as fearsome<br>as the Pumas, and Castrogiovanni is the bull-bar at the front of the<br>juggernaut. Caused indescribable damage in the front row.<br><br><br><br>
<b>2 Raphaël Ibañez</b> - France's captain formidable left all the<br>other hookers a collective distant second, even if he did have to be<br>told by Imañol Harinordoquy that his team still had a chance to win<br>after Scotland had scored with four minutes to go. As with O'Connell,
<br>it is the loose work that sets him apart from the others more than his<br>competence in the tight, but France's line-out was the most secure of<br>all.<br><br><br><br><b>1 Olivier Milloud</b> - The 'man most likely to have been hewn
<br>from a cliff-face', Bourgoin prop Milloud was magnificent all<br>tournament; unflinching, unstoppable, <i>incroyable</i>.<br><br><br><br><b>Benched:</b> 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Carlos Nieto, 18 Jérôme<br>Thion, 19 Mauro Bergamasco, 20 Alessandro Troncon, 21 David Skréla, 22
<br>Chris Paterson.<br></span></pre>