Ireland v Italy - Teams and Prediction
SIX NATIONS ROUND THREE: Andy Farrell vowed Ireland would learn from their defeat to France and their recovery mission starts here, with Italy the visitors to the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.
The 24-30 defeat in France ended Ireland’s Grand Slam ambitions but a first Championship crown since 2018 is still a possibility, as long as they win their remaining three matches.
Ireland have a healthy record against Sunday’s opponents, winning all 11 Championship matches the two have played in Dublin.
But the Azzurri are confident they will grow as the campaign progresses, as they continue to gain confidence under head coach Kieran Crowley in his first Six Nations.
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In Paolo Garbisi, they have a talented flyhalf capable of unlocking even the tightest of defences and the No.10 returns to the scene of his Test debut two years ago a much better player.
He comes up against Joey Carbery and not Johnny Sexton, with the veteran playmaker on the bench despite recovering from a hamstring strain.
Italy are yet to win in the 2022 Championship but have shown glimpses of what they can do, while Ireland hope to send a message to France and England that they are not out of this yet.
Italy head coach Kieran Crowley said: “We have prepared the next meeting by focusing on the aspects of the game that did not satisfy us in the first two games.
“We face the next commitment with energy and the desire to improve. It will be a physically tough match against one of the strongest teams in the world.”
Players to watch:
For Ireland: James Lowe will make his first start of the 2022 Six Nations and Michael Lowry will make his Test debut for Ireland. Lowe, who has become such a key weapon on the wing under Andy Farrell, missed the first two matches of the Championship with a hamstring injury but head coach Farrell has wasted no time in promoting him to the starting XV now he is fully fit. Joey Carbery keeps his place at flyhalf despite Johnny Sexton declaring himself fit this week, while flanker Peter O’Mahony makes his first start of the campaign and captains Ireland from the blindside.
For Italy: Zebre wing Pierre Bruno gets a second cap in place of Bordeaux-Begles’ Federico Mori while Benetton centre Leonardo Marin will start for the Azzurri for the first time after making his debut as a replacement in their opening 10-37 defeat to France. Giovanni Pettinelli comes in at blindside flank in place of his Benneton teammate Braam Steyn.
Head to head
Previous meetings:
Predictions:
@rugby365com: Ireland by 15 points
Teams:
Ireland: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Jamison Gibson Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Ryan Baird, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 James Hume.
Italy: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Leonardo Marin, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Epalahame Faiva, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 David Sisi, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Braam Steyn, 22 Alessandro Fusco, 23 Marco Zanon.
Date: Sunday, February 27
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 15.00 (16.00 Italy time; 15.00 GMT)
Expected weather: Light cloud and a moderate breeze. A high of 10°C and low of 8°C
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Additional Source: @SixNations