Ireland team: Andy Farrell persists with Sam Prendergast after France hammering but swings the axe in bold gamble

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has made sweeping changes to his 23-man squad this weekend, with six coming in the starting XV alone.

Josh van der Flier and Tadhg Beirne are among the big names to miss out on the XV, with the former omitted from the 23 altogether.

Beirne takes his place on the bench with James Ryan coming in alongside Joe McCarthy at lock and Cormac Izuchukwu getting an opportunity in the back-row.

With Van der Flier not in the squad, captain Caelan Doris shifts to openside and Jack Conan, who impressed off the bench against France, starts at number eight for Ireland.

The only part of the pack which remains the same is the front-row as Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan and Thomas Clarkson combine.

Backline changes

Behind the scrum, the return of James Lowe is one of three changes to the backline as he comes in for the dropped Jacob Stockdale.

On the other wing, Robert Baloucoune is handed a chance with Tommy O’Brien missing out, and he joins Jamie Osborne and Tommy O’Brien in the back three.

The final alteration comes at half-back as Craig Casey starts ahead of Jamison Gibson-Park, which means Sam Prendergast keeps his place at 10 despite his struggles in Paris.

Finally, on the bench, Farrell has once again opted for a 6-2 split with Tadhg Furlong returning to the 23 and young lock Edwin Edogbo set to make his debut.

Ronan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Beirne and Nick Timoney are the other forward replacements, while Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley cover the backs for the Six Nations clash with Italy.

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.

“Saturday provides us with a great opportunity in front of a packed home crowd at Aviva Stadium. We’ve had some great battles against Italy in recent years and Saturday will be no different,” Farrell said.

“We know we have to reach a consistently high standard and that’s the exciting challenge that awaits us. There has been a positive reaction in training this week and we’ll aim to keep on building into the weekend.

“In congratulating all of the 23 on their selection, I would like to single out Edwin [Edogbo] on his first selection for the senior team. A product of the club game with Cobh Pirates and UCC, he has shown real quality in his performances for Munster and in training with us over recent times.

“We will aim to make it a special day for Edwin, his family and all those who have played a part in his journey to date.”

Ireland team v Italy in full

Starting XV: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Caelan Doris (c), 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tom Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Tom O’Toole, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Edwin Edogbo, 20 Tadhg Beirne, 21 Nick Timoney, 22 Jamison Gibson-Park, 23 Jack Crowley

Date: Saturday, 14 February, 2026
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14:10 GMT
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (RFU), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)

READ MORE: Scotland team: Gregor Townsend swings axe as NO Edinburgh players make starting XV