![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770762855_216_image.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Another massive game.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Andy Farrell is set to name his Ireland team to take on Italy in Six Nations on Saturday, February 14 (kick-off, 2.10pm).<\/p>\n
With this in mind, we have selected the team we would like to see at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.<\/p>\n
Front row<\/p>\n
While he contributed little around the park against the French, Jeremy Loughman performed his main duty well, which was to hold up the scrum.<\/p>\n
And, it allowed Michael Milne to show off his carrying attributes against tired legs.<\/p>\n
But given the injuries to the first three in line, Ireland also have no other choice.<\/p>\n
Tadhg Furlong is back training and should be good for a bench spot with Finlay Bealham dropping out.<\/p>\n
At hooker, Tom Stewart deserved a shot off the bench in the 34-14 loss to France, and this remains the case in week two.<\/p>\n
Second row<\/p>\n
The lineout was the best it has been in some time last Thursday, and does not need much fiddling with.<\/p>\n
However, it would be prudent to introduce Edwin Edogbo to the international scene, even if off the bench.<\/p>\n
This creates an argument to either push Cian Prendergast out and start Tadhg Beirne at blindside flanker, and\/or go with two locks on the bench.<\/p>\n
Back row<\/p>\n
This feels like exactly the right time to finally give Nick Timoney a start in a big fixture, following his game-breaking performance off the bench at the Stade de France.<\/p>\n
Jack Conan could be too valuable to keep out of the starting XV, and, while Caelan Doris is less undroppable than ever, he still has to be in the side.<\/p>\n
Half-back<\/p>\n
JGP had two or three glaring errors last Thursday, but his box-kicking was world class.<\/p>\n
At out-half, Sam Prendergast had a decent showing in tough conditions, with the good just about out weighing the bad.<\/p>\n
Jack Crowley often looks his best for Ireland off the bench, but there is a strong temptation to have a double playmaker option from the start.<\/p>\n
Centre<\/p>\n
Stuart McCloskey is currently Ireland’s most potent attacking weapon, but there maybe a better option outside him than Garry Ringrose.<\/p>\n
A Jude Postlethwaite debut is a possibility, while Jamie Osborne’s best position is centre, despite having never started there for Ireland.<\/p>\n
Back-three<\/p>\n
In the team we wanted to see versus France, we initially had Robert Baloucoune and James Lowe out wide, before switching out the latter for Jacob Stockdale after Lowe’s poor showing for Leinster against Connacht.<\/p>\n
However, as it turns out, Lowe’s supreme aerial skills would have been more valuable against France, considering Ireland’s kick-heavy tactics.<\/p>\n
As aforementioned, Crowley could start at fullback, but Osborne was one of Ireland’s better performers last week.<\/p>\n
Our Ireland 23 vs Italy:<\/p>\n
Jeremy LoughmanDan SheehanTom ClarksonJoe McCarthyEdwin EdogboTadhg BeirneNick TimoneyCaelan DorisJamison Gibson-ParkSam PrendergastJames LoweStuart McCloskeyGarry RingroseRobert BaloucouneJamie Osborne<\/p>\n
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Michael Milne, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Another massive game. On Thursday, Andy Farrell is set to name his Ireland team to take on Italy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-291257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}