Italy v Ireland - Teams and Prediction
SIX NATIONS, ROUND THREE: Italy head coach Kieran Crowley admits that he does have a slight concern over his playmaker Paolo Garbisi ahead of his team's Six Nations Round Three clash against Ireland in Rome on Saturday.
The highly-rated flyhalf will make his first start of the Six Nations this year.
The 22-year-old Montpellier star sat out the opening losses to France and England with a knee injury but seems fit enough to be named by Crowley in the starting line-up unveiled on Thursday.
Garbisi will form a halfback combination with Stephen Varney with his replacement for the French and English matches Tommaso Allan moving to the bench.
Crowley said Garbisi had earned his immediate recall due to his performance for Montpellier on his return to action and had impressed in training.
However, Crowley knows it won't be plain sailing for the youngster.
"I think it is a challenge for him because he often plays centre for Montpellier," said Crowley.
"We are, though, confident in selecting him at flyhalf because he has the required qualities for the role."
Garbisi will have another reason to be happy about his return because he won't have to pit his wits against Ireland's talismanic flyhalf Johnny Sexton.
The 37-year-old Sexton was ruled out on Wednesday due to a groin injury.
Crowley has made two other changes to the starting line-up from the 14-31 loss to England a fortnight ago.
He has recalled wing Pierre Bruno and experienced prop Simone Ferrari. Tommaso Menoncello moves from the wing to the centres where he will partner Juan Ignacio Brex.
Both started the match against 2022 champions France who they pushed all the way before losing 29-24.
"Tommaso Menoncello has been moved to the centre because, with his physique, he is a player who can make an impact there and find space," said Crowley.
"At Treviso, he has often played with Brex. He has an affinity with him.
"He did some good things on the wing [against France and England] but we want to benefit from his qualities in another area of the pitch."
Thanks to that losing bonus point the Italians are second from bottom of the table - crisis-hit Wales hold it up without a point.
The Irish by contrast arrive still as world No.1 and on the back of two convincing victories against the Welsh and French, scoring more than 30 points against both.
Ireland have lost just once to Italy in the Six Nations - 22-15 in 2013 in Rome.
Crowley, though, has engineered a marked improvement, guiding Italy to a win over Wales in Cardiff last year-- ending a 36 Six Nations match losing streak - and then to an historic home win over Australia last November.
"It will be a difficult match against the number one ranked side in the world," said Crowley.
"However, each match is a different story: we will confront Ireland with the ambition of us improving in certain sectors so we are more competitive," added the 61-year-old New Zealander.
Crowley said he hoped Italy could slow down the Irish game although he conceded even that might not be sufficient.
"They can be very dangerous whatever sector of the game and manoeuvre," he said.
"To achieve their goal they are capable of being patient, phase after phase.
"They are not the best team in the world by chance."
Meanwhile, Ross Byrne and Craig Casey form a new halfback partnership for Irelan as both make their first Six Nations starts against Italy.
Byrne comes in for Johnny Sexton. Casey gets the nod from head coach Andy Farrell after Munster teammate Conor Murray started the wins over Wales and 2022 champions France.
Farrell said that Byrne and Casey had been selected on merit not just to inject a bit of freshness into the starting line-up.
"They have earned the right to start," said Farrell at his press conference prior to flying to Rome.
"Preparation has been great and they seem ready for it.
"People wouldn't have been selected if they weren't in the right place.
"So, we're not just turning things around for the sake of it, we are turning things around because we think it's a strong side for us going forward, for this game and for the future as well."
In the absence of Sexton, James Ryan skippers a side - unveiled on Thursday - which shows six changes from the 32-19 win over the French.
"James just happens to be one of those leaders who will put his hand up week-in, week-out, and lead from the front in how he performs on the field," said Farrell of 26-year-old Ryan, who skippers the side for a seventh time.
Players to watch
For Italy: Playmaker Paolo Garbisi is finally back in the No.10 jersey and he will look to apply some pressure on attack as well as dictate play with his boot. He is considered one of world rugby's brightest young stars and he could be a game-changer in Rome on Saturday. Fullback Ange Capuozzo has that x-factor on attack that can surely give Ireland some problems. He can create something out of nothing and add an extra dimension if he comes into the first receiver role. in the pack, captain Michele Lamaro is a powerhouse with ball in hand and he is a physical presence at the breakdown. In the second row, Federico Ruzza and Niccolò Cannone will have mammoth tasks in the line-outs against James Ryan and Iain Henderson. It could be an area where they can disrupt the Irish.
For Ireland: All eyes will be on Ireland's halfback combination. Flyhalf Ross Byrne impressed head coach Andy Farrell with his performances in the win over Australia last November and came on for Johnny Sexton with over half-an-hour of the France match remaining and closed it out. With Sexton's international career slowly coming to end, Ireland will need to look towards the future in that playmaker role and Byrne could provide some more answers. Munster scrumhalf Craig Casey is a wily customer around the rucks and he will need to be tactically astute if he wants to be seen as an option when the World Cup comes around. In the pack, Josh van der Flier is a world-class player in that No.7 jersey and his work rate in all aspects of the game has been key to Ireland's success on the field.
Head-to-Head
Prediction
@rugby365com: Ireland by 13 points.
Teams:
Italy: 15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Pierre Bruno, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney; 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Edoardo Iachizzi, 20 Giovanni Pettinelli, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Luca Morisi, 23 Tommaso Allan.
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 James Ryan (captain), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Stuart McCloskey.
Date: Saturday, February 25
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 14.15 (13.15 UK and Ireland time; 13.15 GMT)
Expected weather: It will be overcast with a high of 19°C and a low of 11°C.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (Ireland) & Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
AFP & @rugby365com