Italy v Ireland preview: ‘Ruthless’ onslaught awaits Azzurri but Irish three-peat hopes left in Rome’s ruins
Italy fly-half Paolo Garbisi and Ireland counterpart Jack Crowley.
Ireland will be a team on a mission when they head to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday to take on Italy in what promises to be a thrilling encounter.
The men from the Emerald Isle came into this year’s Six Nations highly motivated to lift the title as champions for an unprecedented third successive year and they were on course to achieve that goal after clinching victories over England, Scotland and Wales in their first three matches.
However, things went pear-shaped against France last week when Fabien Galthie’s charges delivered a clinical performance en route to an emphatic 42-27 victory at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
That result means Ireland come into their Round Five Six Nations encounter with the Azzurri sitting in third position in the standings with 14 points amassed from their four matches played, and while they still have an outside chance to win the Championship again, they have to clinch a huge win over Italy and hope that France and England, who are above them on the table, falter in their respective matches against Scotland and Wales.
There was plenty of pressure on Ireland’s interim head coach Simon Easterby ahead of the Championship as he had big boots to fill as the replacement for Andy Farrell, who stood down from the position for the entire Six Nations as he slotted into his role as British & Irish Lions boss ahead of their highly anticipated series against the Wallabies later this year.
Things went according to plan for Easterby and Ireland as they clinched bonus points wins over England and Scotland before also beating Wales.
Their world came crashing down against France, however, and they will determined to bounce back with a polished display en route to a victory over the Azzurri on Saturday.
That is easier said than done though as Italy will be determined to finish their campaign on a high in front of passionate supporters in Rome.
Under the guidance of head coach Gonzalo Quesada, the Azzurri have developed into one of the most improved teams in the international arena and although results did not always go their way in this year’s Championship, they were competitive in most of their fixtures.
After coming up short against Scotland in their tournament opener, they registered their only triumph against Wales in Round Two before suffering a huge defeat against France.
They delivered an improved performance against England last week but finished on the losing side again and will be hoping to burst Ireland’s bubble this weekend.
Where the game will be won
These teams have caught the eye with brilliant attacking performances for the most part this Six Nations but both have struggled defensively in recent weeks and if they want to be victorious they will have to show considerable improvement in that department. Italy head into this fixture with the most points conceded in the Championship (166) while apart from the Azzurri and bottom-placed Wales (127), Ireland (100) are the only other team who have conceded a century or more points.
Although he is not in Ireland’s starting line-up, young playmaker Sam Prendergast is the player who has missed the most tackles (17) in the Six Nations while Azzurri skipper and outside centre Juan Ignacio Brex (12) is in joint third position in that category. However, both sides also have players who have excelled defensively with Italy flanker Sebastian Negri (67) having made the second most tackles in the tournament while Ireland counterpart Josh van der Flier (58) is in fourth spot.
Last time they met
What they said
Experienced Italy outside centre and newly appointed skipper Brex highlighted the importance of defence if they want to return to the victory trail.
“We need to focus more on the defence,” he said. “In the past two games, we’ve conceded 120 points. It’s not nice to talk about but it’s the truth at the moment,” he told Planet Rugby in an exclusive interview after Italy’s Round Four loss to England.
“We need to work on our defence and our physicality.”
Meanwhile, Ireland front-row Andrew Porter highlighted how important it is for them to return to winning ways but also emphasised that they cannot underestimate the Azzurri.
“We’ve done our reviews and looked through what we can fix up for this weekend, but it wouldn’t knock our pride,” he said.
“If anything, it’s emboldened us to go out and produce the rugby we can play. We’re not done. We’re not out of the competition completely yet.
“We can’t dwell too much on what’s happening on Saturday because Italy have their own threats and they’re a great outfit as well.”
Players to watch
Although the Azzurri have lost three out of four matches in this year’s Six Nations, Tommaso Allan is amongst the Championship’s leading points-scorers after impressing with accurate goal-kicking during the earlier rounds. He returns to the run-on side this weekend, after making an appearance off the replacements bench during the latter stages of last week’s defeat to England, and will be expected to keep the scoreboard ticking for the Azzurri.
Italy’s head coach has sprung a major surprise by naming experienced outside centre Juan Ignacio Brex as his team’s captain for this important encounter. Although the 32-year-old is no stranger to the leadership role – as he previously skippered his country against the All Blacks during last year’s Autumn Nations Series – this will be the first time he leads the Azzurri in a Six Nations Test. Brex is very much a player who leads by example, but he will also have to keep a cool head at all times as his decision making will be crucial.
With Brex named as Italy’s new skipper, it means that regular leader Michele Lamaro has been dropped to the bench and Manuel Zuliani gets a rare opportunity as the team’s starting openside flanker. The 24-year-old has impressed off the bench for the Azzurri in their previous matches and caught the eye with a high work-rate on defence, great physicality as a ball carrier and excellent foraging skills when competing at the breakdowns. He will be keen to put in a solid display in his direct duel with Josh van der Flier who is one of the best openside flankers in the business.
Ireland have several attacking weapons in their backline with the likes of Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose and Hugo Keenan all capable of delivering the goods with ball in hand. However, they will be boosted by the return of experienced speedster James Lowe, who was a late withdrawal shortly before kick off against France. Losing Lowe was a setback for the Irish as his brilliant attacking skill set usually unlocks the tightest defences and he will be hoping to do just that against Italy.
Meanwhile, another player who is valuable to the Irish cause is experienced scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, who has been one of the most consistent performers for the men from the Emerald Isle. The 33-year-old is renowned for his ability to control the pace of the game and make crucial decisions on the field. If he gets good front foot ball from his forwards, it could be a long day at the office for the home side as Gibson-Park is sure to unleash his outside backs with his superb distribution skills.
Another player to keep an eye on is veteran tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong, who is set to make his first appearance for his country in 2025 via the replacements bench. Furlong makes his return to action after a lengthy stint on the sidelines due to a calf injury. Solid in the execution of his core duties, the 33-year-old will be hoping his injury woes are a thing of the past as he eyes a spot in British and Irish Lions’ squad for their upcoming tour to Australia.
Main head-to-head
There are several exciting battles set to take place across the park but all eyes will be on the duel between the two fly-halves as Italy’s Paolo Garbisi and Ireland’s Jack Crowley have important roles to play in the bigger scheme of things for their respective teams. Garbisi is a vital cog in the Italy machine as he has been calling the shots their first choice number 10 in all of their Six Nations matches this year. Meanwhile, Crowley will be out to prove a point after starting all of Ireland’s previous matches on the replacements bench with Prendergast their first choice fly-half. Both Garbisi and Crowley are talented playmakers who will be expected to put their respective sides on the front foot with their superb skill sets.
Prediction
This should be an entertaining encounter as both sides are expected to stay true to their attacking roots and although Italy will be competitive for long periods on their home turf, Ireland should prove too strong in the end. With an outside shot of winning the title, expect Ireland to be ruthless from the onset and they could quite easily rack up an emphatic victory to keep the three-peat dream alive if only for a few more hours. Ireland to win by 20+ points.
Previous results
2024: Ireland won 36-0 in Dublin
2023: Ireland won 33-17 in Dublin
2023: Ireland won 34-20 in Rome
2022: Ireland won 57-6 in Dublin
2021: Ireland won 48-10 in Rome
2020: Ireland won 50-17 in Dublin
2019: Ireland won 29-10 in Dublin
2019: Ireland won 26-16 in Dublin
The teams
Italy: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex (c), 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Joshua Zilocchi, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Michele Lamaro, 21 Ross Vintcent, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Leonardo Marin
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Bundee Aki
Date: Saturday, March 15
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)
READ MORE: Italy team v Ireland: Gonzalo Quesada swings the axe as Michele Lamaro is replaced as captain
