image source, Getty Images
Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley impressed in his first Six Nations start at Marseille last week
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venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin date: Sunday February 11th kick off: 15:00 GMT |
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coverage: Listen on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Radio Ulster. You can watch live text updates and highlights on his website and app on BBC Sport. |
Ireland’s quest for back-to-back Grand Slam titles begins on Sunday when they take on an in-form Italy at the Aviva Stadium.
The Irish started their Six Nations title defense in style with their biggest ever away win against France in the tournament opener.
The visiting team have lost their last 14 Tests against Ireland and have never won a Six Nations match in Dublin.
team news
Ireland: Head coach Andy Farrell made six changes, with captain Peter O’Mahony replaced by Ryan Baird. Caelan Doris takes up the armband, becoming the 110th player to lead Ireland in Test rugby.
Craig Casey will start at scrum-half in front of Jamison Gibson-Park, with Stuart McCloskey replacing Bundy Aki at inside center. Jack Connan will start at number eight, with James Ryan replacing Tadhg Beirne in the second row and Finlay Bealham starting at tighthead prop in place of Tadhg Furlong.
Italy: The Azzurri will be without influential flanker Sebastian Negri, who injured his ribs against England, while Lorenzo Canone is also absent with a knee problem. Alessandro Izekol and Manuel Zuliani will be in the last row, with captain Michele Ramaro in number eight.
Ange Capozzo will replace Tommaso Allan at full-back, returning from illness, while Stephen Varney will replace Alessandro Garbisi at scrum-half.
Andrew Cotter: No game in the Six Nations is as sure of a win as Ireland vs. Italy at home, but it will be interesting to see how the Azzurri, who came so close to beating England, deal with one of the game’s toughest challenges. .
Sunday may not be as scary, but Ireland feel so secure in their squad that they can give O’Mahony, Aki, Behan and Furlong a weekend off.
For Italy, the ever-dangerous Capozzo returns, but even if Ireland’s big names are absent, it will take much more than his magic to strike fear into Ireland in Dublin.
Views from both sides
Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt: “It was very impressive to see Italy turn things around and perform like that against a good English side. They are clearly trying to impress their new manager.” [Gonzalo Quesada] In the same way.
“I think with the arrival of Quesada they tighten up a little bit, but they scored some really good tries and caused England serious problems.
“This team is a team that works really hard on each other, especially defensively. Their workload off the ball is huge. We have to do our little things right to overcome that. be.”
Italy national team coach Gonzalo Quesada: “We will be missing two elements in the forward department compared to the last game, but we have a young group that wants to emerge.
“The focus will be on our performance in Dublin and we will be able to take another step in our development against one of the strongest teams in the world.
“We have some tough matches ahead of us, so it will be important to stay calm throughout the match.”
Ireland: 15- Keenan. 14-Nash, 13-Henshaw, 12-McCloskey, 11-Low. 10-Crowley, 9-Casey. 1-Porter, 2-Sheehan, 3-Bealham, 4-McCarthy, 5-Ryan, 6-Baird, 7-Doris (Captain), 8-Conan.
Replacement: 16-Kelleher, 17-Loughman, 18-O’Toole, 19-Henderson, 20-Van der Flier, 21-Gibson Park, 22-Byrne, 23-Larmore.
Italy: 15-Capozzo. 14-Pani, 13-Brex, 12-Menoncero, 11-Ioane. 10-Garbisi, 9-Varney. 1- Fischetti, 2- Lucchesi, 3- Ceccarelli, 4- Cannone, 5- Luzza, 6- Izecole, 7- Zuliani, 8- Ramaro (captain).
Replacement: 16-Nicotera, 17-Spagnolo, 18-Girocchi, 19-Zambonin, 20-Vincent, 21-Page-Lillo, 22-Alan, 23-Mori.
agreement of facts
- Ireland have won 32 of their 36 games against Italy, losing the remaining four.
- Their only defeat came in the Six Nations, with the Italians winning 22-15 in Rome in 2013.
- Ireland have won 18 of their last 19 Test matches.
- They have also won nine consecutive games in this tournament, which is an all-time record between five or six nations.
- Italy have lost 42 of their last 43 Six Nations games, including their last six defeats.
- However, their past two wins in this tournament have both come on the road. The memorable 22-21 victory over Wales two years ago and the 22-19 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield in 2015.
match official
Referee: Pierre Bourset (France)
Touch judge: Mathieu Reynal (France) & Luc Ramos (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzan (France)