DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland has already powered to a victory in its toughest fixture in the Six Nations.
Expect the same outcome in what will likely be its easiest.
The Irish have lost only one of their 19 test matches at home to Italy. That was in 1997, when the Azzurri weren’t even in the tournament — it was the Five Nations back then — and Ireland wasn’t the rugby superpower it has become.
Also the defending Six Nations champion. Until recently, the world’s top-ranked team. A hugely impressive 38-17 winner over France in Paris last weekend.
Good luck at Lansdowne Road on Sunday, Italy.
Ireland has put 50 points at least on Italy in their last four Six Nations meetings in Dublin. Even in 2012 and ’14, Ireland scored 42 and 46 points in matches on either side of Italy’s last win over the Irish — in 2013 in Rome.
Sunday marks Ireland’s homecoming after its painful Rugby World Cup exit in France at the hands of New Zealand in the quarterfinals in October. The team will want to put on a show at a sold-out Lansdowne Road while maintaining its bid to become the first team in the Six Nations era to achieve successive Grand Slams.
“The Grand Slam will take care of itself if we perform to a level we are capable of performing,” attack coach Mike Catt says. “It’s making sure we put our focus on (performing) and don’t worry about the external noise.”
Italy games are usually when opponents rotate players, and even with a nine-day turnaround from the France romp, Ireland has decided to rest stalwarts Tadhg Beirne and Bundee Aki. New captain Peter O’Mahony and tighthead Tadhg Furlong are rehabbing calf injuries, and flanker Josh van der Flier and scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park have been dropped into the reserves.
Into the starting side have come Finlay Bealham, the only non-Leinster forward, former captain James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, and backs Craig Casey and Stuart McCloskey. Ireland is hardly weaker; all of them went to the World Cup.
Conan says the pressure is on them to build on the record-setting standards achieved in Marseille.
“We know we’ll have to progress and get better as the competition goes on, even though we started off pretty well and the lads are happy in general,” Conan says. “We can’t take it that that’s going to be our best performance.”
After assured first Six Nations starts in Marseille, flyhalf Jack Crowley, who contributed 13 points, and wing Calvin Nash, a try, play again.
Caelan Doris, from flanker, captains for the first time.
Italy has reinstalled fullback Ange Capuozzo among four changes after narrowly falling to England 27-24 in Rome last weekend.
Capuozzo withdrew late from that match due to a stomach illness. Tommaso Allan, after a last-minute knock hindered his training this week, was in the reserves.
Injuries to back-rowers Lorenzo Cannone, Sebastian Negri and Edoardo Iachizzi have promoted Manuel Zuliani and rookie Alessandro Izekor to the flanks and bumped captain Michele Lamaro to No. 8 for the first time since 2021.
Lamaro will move, though, if South Africa-born No. 8 Ross Vintcent, who plays for Exeter, debuts off the bench.
Italy gave England a good scare. But that was at home against only England. When Italy last met top-four teams, in September-October, it conceded 23 tries to New Zealand and France.
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Lineups:
Ireland: Hugo Keenan, Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe, Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jack Conan, Caelan Doris (captain), Ryan Baird, James Ryan, Joe McCarthy, Finlay Bealham, Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter. Reserves: Ronan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park, Harry Byrne, Jordan Larmour.
Italy: Ange Capuozzo, Lorenzo Pani, Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Stephen Varney; Michele Lamaro (captain), Manuel Zuliani, Alessandro Izekor, Federico Ruzza, Niccolo Cannone, Pietro Ceccarelli, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Danilo Fischetti. Reserves: Giacomo Nicotera, Mirco Spagnolo, Giosuè Zilocchi, Andrea Zambonin, Ross Vintcent, Martin Page-Relo, Tommaso Allan, Federico Mori.
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