After their narrow win in their Six Nations opener against France, Ireland will be keen to deliver a dominant performance against Italy on Saturday.
Ireland used their get-out-of-jail card, courtesy of Johnny Sexton’s late drop goal, which keeps their title hopes alive and the Azzurri can expect a backlash from Joe Schmidt’s charges in this match.
Of their 18 matches against Italy in the Six Nations, Ireland have won 17 – their only loss was in 2013 – and with this match being played in Dublin, anything less than a convincing win will be a disappointing result.
Despite claiming that narrow 15-13 win in Paris, Schmidt will be disappointed with his side’s attacking play in that fixture as France outscored them one try to none.
The men from the Emerald Isle will have to show considerable improvement in that department against the tournament’s weakest team if they want to make teams like England and Wales wary of them.
Ireland will draw inspiration from their previous fixture with Italy which they won 63-10 in Rome last year. That match has special memories for Ireland back-row CJ Stander as he became the first forward to score a hat-trick in a Six Nations match.
That result was also a record Six Nations triumph for Ireland and the biggest margin of victory registered by an away side in the tournament’s history.
Although Italy are favourites to finish last in the tournament again, they had some good moments during their 46-15 defeat to England in Rome last weekend and the two tries they scored in that clash were a fitting reward for entertaining passages of play.
Under the guidance of their head coach, Conor O’Shea, Italy employ a ball in hand approach which provided England with some headaches with the first of their tries coming after they had taken their opponents’ defence across the length and breadth of the field.
But despite those flashes of brilliance, Italy’s defensive efforts left a lot to be desired – they conceded seven tries – which means they head into this clash as overwhelming underdogs.
The loss to England means Italy have now lost their 13th consecutive Six Nations match and they have lost 12 of their last 13 Tests in all internationals with their only win registered win over Fiji in Catania last November.
Players to Watch
For Ireland: He did not make the desired impact against France in his Six Nations debut last week but Bundee Aki will relish the opportunity to have a crack at the Italians this weekend. The burly centre enjoys the physical nature of the game and will be expected to get his side over the gainline with his powerful carries. Aki is also strong in the tackle and his abrasive defensive style will also be vital to the Irish cause.
For Italy: He might be in the twilight of his career, but Sergio Parisse remains an inspirational figure for Italy and is still one of the game’s best number eights. Parisse is known for his deft touches with ball in hand but he is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get stuck into his opponents especially in the forward exchanges.
Head-to-head: The battle between the two number 10s should be a riveting one as both Ireland’s Johnny Sexton and Tommaso Allan of Italy are important players for their respective sides. Sexton showed his class with his last minute heroics in Paris last week and Allan also had moments of brilliance on attack in the Azzurri‘s defeat to England in Rome. Both players are brilliant attackers and although Sexton’s experience gives him the edge, Allan has the ability to bring out the best in his outside backs with his superb skill-set.
Previous results:
2017: Ireland won 63-10 in Rome
2016: Ireland won 58-15 in Dublin
2015: Ireland won 16-9 in London
2015: Ireland won 26-3 in Rome
2014: Ireland won 46-7 in Dublin
2013: Italy won 22-15 in Rome
2012: Ireland won 42-10 in Dublin
2011: Ireland won 36-6 in Dunedin
2011: Ireland won 13-11 in Rome
2010: Ireland won 29-11 in Dublin
2009: Ireland won 38-9 in Rome
Prediction: Ireland will have too much ammunition for their visitors and will win this one easily. Ireland by 30 points.
The teams:
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jordan Larmour
Italy: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Braam Steyn, 6 Sebastien Negri, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Maxime Mata Mbanda, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Jayden Hayward
Date: Saturday, February 10
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14:15 GMT
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Pascal Gaüzère (France), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
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