Andy Farrell\u2019s been chatting through his selection:<\/p>\n
\u201cSaturday provides us with a great opportunity in front of a packed home crowd at Aviva Stadium. We\u2019ve had some great battles against Italy in recent years and Saturday will be no different.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we have to reach a consistently high standard and that\u2019s the exciting challenge that awaits us. There has been a positive reaction in training this week and we\u2019ll aim to keep on building into the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ireland](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SE2VPY6RZMEHPXVNAFFWMB5UL4.jpg\")
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. Photograph: Billy Stickland\/Inpho <\/p>\n
Farrell added: \u201cIn 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s team has also landed. Here\u2019s how they line out.<\/p>\n
ITALY: Lorenzo Pani; Louis Lynagh, Tommaso Menoncello, Leonardo Marin; Monty Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Alessandro Fusco; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari; Niccolo Cannone, Andrea Zambonin; Michele Lamaro (capt), Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone.<\/p>\n
Replacements: Tommaso di Bartolomeo, Mirco Spagnolo, Muhamed Hasa, Federico Ruzza, Riccardo Favretto, David Odiase, Alessandro Garbisi, Paolo Odogwu.<\/p>\n
Gerry Thornley\u2019s reaction hot off the press:<\/p>\n
Andy Farrell<\/a> has made half a dozen changes in personnel to the Ireland 15 for Saturday\u2019s Six Nations clash against Italy at a sold-out Aviva Stadium, with Munster<\/a> secondrow Edwin Edogbo in line for his Test debut off the bench.<\/p>\n The Ulster<\/a> pair of Robert Baloucoune and Cormac Izuchukwu have been named in the starting team, while the fit-again James Lowe is also recalled. Craig Casey has been promoted from the bench, as have James Ryan and Jack Conan following their impact in the 36-14 loss to France last week, with captain Caelan Doris shifting to openside as Josh van der Flier misses out on the matchday 23 altogether. <\/p>\n Jamie Osborne continues at fullback, while Stuart McCloskey Garry Ringrose continue their partnership in midfield, as do the front row trio of Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan and Thomas Clarkson. Joe McCarthy also remains in the secondrow as Sam Prendergast holds on to the 10 jersey.<\/p>\n Tadhg Furlong is named on the bench as he returns from injury and, more surprisingly, Tom O\u2019Toole has been named to cover loosehead ahead of Michael Milne after the Munster man\u2019s try-scoring debut in Paris.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time Farrell has made a selection which goes against perceived wisdom, and his hunches generally pay off; he has apparently been asking Ulster to play O\u2019Toole at loosehead for the last season or two.<\/p>\n O\u2019Toole has been training on both sides of the scrum in camp but for the last three seasons all of his Ulster starts have come at tighthead, with the province having Australia\u2019s Angus Bell on hand at loosehead.<\/p>\n Tadhg Beirne and Jamison Gibson-Park drop to the 6-2 bench, with Nick Timoney retained after his try-scoring cameo against France.<\/p>\n Farrell has wasted little time in elevating Edogbo, calling him in to train with the squad in Chicago after his first game back following a two-year absence due to a second ruptured Achilles. A head knock during Munster\u2019s win over Leinster at Croke Park last year put a spanner in the works, but the 23-year-old has impressed in training and is now set to become the first player from Cobh Pirates to line out for Ireland. <\/p>\n Izuchukwu \u2013 born in London to an Irish mother and Nigerian father and who moved to Offaly at seven \u2013 earned his first Ireland cap in November 2024 against Fiji but Saturday will mark the 26-year-old\u2019s Six Nations debut. <\/p>\n His Ulster team-mate Baloucoune has faced injury woes, winning the last of his four caps in November 2022. But the pacy 28-year-old has been in fine form for his province this season, scoring six tries in six games.<\/p>\n Here we have it, Ireland\u2019s matchday squad for Saturday\u2019s clash at the Aviva against Italy.<\/p>\n IRELAND: Jamie Osborne; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Cormac Izuchukwu, Caelan Doris (capt), Jack Conan.<\/p>\n Replacements: R\u00f3nan Kelleher, Tom O\u2019Toole, Tadhg Furlong, Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Crowley.<\/p>\n Nathan Johns was back with some analysis after the French defeat. In short: Ireland\u2019s current style of play doesn\u2019t suit the players we have at our disposal.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Thursday\u2019s evidence, Ireland are not yet adept at using the boot to create and exploit broken field opportunities. They did not win enough aerial battles nor did they cash in on the handful of duels that were won. The evolution of the transition attack has some way yet to go,\u201d Nathan writes.<\/p>\n Have a read of his analysis below:<\/p>\n [\u00a0Right now, Ireland\u2019s game plan does not suit its playersOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Gerry Thornley had a go at predicting this weekend\u2019s Ireland side to face Italy, and he came up with some interesting changes.<\/p>\n He thinks James Lowe is set for a return on the wing, while Ulster duo Cormac Izuchukwu and Robert Baloucoune may be in line for starts.<\/p>\n Although Gerry thinks Sam Prendergast will be retained at 10, he predicts the outhalf will be partnered with Munster\u2019s Craig Casey, giving Jamison Gibson-Park a seat on the bench.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Gerry believes Saturday\u2019s matchday squad will look like:<\/p>\n Ireland (possible v Italy): Osborne; Baloucoune, Ringrose, McCloskey, Lowe; S Prendergast, Casey; Loughman, Sheehan, Clarkson; McCarthy, Ryan; Izuchukwu, Doris (capt), Conan.<\/p>\n Replacements: Kelleher, O\u2019Toole, Furlong, Edogbo, Beirne, Timoney, Gibson-Park, Crowley.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll know shortly how closely aligned GT\u2019s thinking is to that of Andy Farrell.<\/p>\n In his latest column, Gordon D\u2019Arcy pondered the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) devised by a US military strategist.<\/p>\n \u201cThursday night in Paris felt like watching that theory play out on a rugby pitch. France observed space, oriented themselves to it, decided to attack it and acted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt appeared that Ireland observed the same space, oriented themselves to a predetermined structure, decided to follow the plan and missed valuable half-chances as they presented themselves. The game, in many ways, was decided by that gap,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n \u201cParis strips away the external noise and shows you exactly where you are. I find myself torn between encouragement and serious concern. This wasn\u2019t the apocalypse, but it wasn\u2019t a performance that screams world-class.\u201d<\/p>\n Read his thoughts in full below:<\/p>\n [\u00a0Gordon D\u2019Arcy: I\u2019m torn between encouragement and serious concern for the Irish rugby teamOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Just 30 minutes to the Ireland team announcement now.<\/p>\n We had a few sobering reads in the fallout of Ireland\u2019s loss to France last week.<\/p>\n It might not be time to hit the doomsday button just yet, but there may be an ominous sense that Ireland\u2019s seat at rugby\u2019s top table is starting to be pulled out from under them.<\/p>\n \u201cSo then, that was the week that was. The week when Irish rugby, depending on your viewpoint, either suffered further evidence of a temporary blip or hit a wall,\u201d Gerry Thornley wrote earlier this week.<\/p>\n \u201cOpinions differ among people who have a knowledgeable affiliation with rugby in this country as to whether this is a lull or something deeper. One can make an argument either way.\u201d<\/p>\n Casting an eye to Saturday, Gerry added: \u201cThe events of last Thursday night in Paris have reinforced the view that in a particularly challenging Six Nations for Ireland, Italy have never looked so dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the piece in full below:<\/p>\n [\u00a0We could be witnessing the start of Irish rugby\u2019s declineOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Italy will have a pep in their step coming to Dublin this weekend after their win last time out against Scotland.<\/p>\n So, are wounded Ireland vulnerable to an Italian job? That\u2019s the question Nathan Johns and Gordon D\u2019Arcy discussed on the latest episode of The Counter Ruck podcast.<\/p>\n They also look at some of the wider tactical and skill set deficiencies plaguing Irish rugby, and what can be done to stop the rot.<\/p>\n You can listen below, or wherever you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n You can check out more from The Counter Ruck here<\/a> and stay up to date with all the latest episodes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a ruck on the letters pages of The Irish Times at the end of last week. Or maybe it was a maul,\u201d Denis Walsh wrote earlier this week, writing of a rather heated debate which kicked off after a reader said he was dreading the invasion of the \u201cwax-jacketed seasonal rugger buggers\u201d into pubs as the Six Nations returned.<\/p>\n Some were amused by the comment, others aghast, with Denis reasoning there\u2019s a \u201csubliminal stand-off between the blowhards and the blow-ins\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTo sustain itself in the professional era, rugby needed to broaden its appeal. It was a commercial imperative.<\/p>\n \u201cIn every sport, bandwagon-jumpers are regarded as opportunistic and flighty, and their behaviour is sniffed at by the long-suffering hard-core, but rugby needed heavily populated bandwagons in order to wash its face.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the piece in full below:<\/p>\n [\u00a0Irish rugby bickering is a collision between blowhards and blow-insOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the table looks after round one:<\/p>\n France opened their title defence with a 36-14 bonus-point win over Ireland in Paris last Thursday with Louis Bielle-Biarrey in electric form at the Stade de France.<\/p>\n Skip on to Saturday, Italy hosted Scotland at the Stadio Olympic, which was so drenched they were almost playing water polo for a finish. The Italians held on for an 18-15 win, their first opening-round victory since 2013, piling pressure on Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend ahead of his side hosting old rivals England this weekend.<\/p>\n Speaking of England, they gave Wales an absolute thumping at Twickenham. The poor Welsh haven\u2019t been having an easy time of it lately, and the 48-7 defeat gave no indication their fortunes will be changing any time soon.<\/p>\n Okay, now that we\u2019ve lightened the mood with some off-the-pitch antics, time to turn our attention back to the rugby itself.<\/p>\n Our second round fixtures go like this:<\/p>\n Ireland v Italy, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, 2.10pm<\/p>\n Scotland v England, Murrayfield, Saturday, 4.40pm<\/p>\n Wales v France, Principality Stadium, Sunday, 3.10pm<\/p>\n Do we want to relive last week? No, not really. It was a rather painful start to the tournament after all. <\/p>\n However, we\u2019re made of stern stuff, and if I was to avoid all mention of last Thursday\u2019s result in favour of chirpier content I\u2019ll run out of things to say fairly rapid.<\/p>\n So how about we ease ourselves in with a story from last Saturday\u2019s game between England and Wales at Twickenham.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Twickenham crackdown with 24 fines for \u2018public urination\u2019 in connection to England v Wales gameOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Hello everyone! Welcome along to The Irish Times live blog for Ireland<\/a>\u2019s round two Six Nations<\/a> team announcement.<\/p>\n Andy Farrell<\/a> will name his side to face Italy<\/a> at 2pm, with Gonzalo Quesada due to do name his matchday 23 shortly.<\/p>\n The game will be played at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off at 2.10pm.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve a while to go before the teams are announced, so in the meantime we\u2019ll be running through what happened in round one as well as looking ahead to this weekend\u2019s action across the tournament.<\/p>\n![\"Ireland's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/WAK3OUTPBEXUEQPLT4LCFMVY2I.jpg\")
Ireland’s Edwin Edogbo and Tom O’Toole. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n![\"Louis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770907640_831_RZIYB5LGWT2XOYT2T2DE7RJJRA.jpg\")
Louis Bielle-Biarrey scores France’s fourth try against Ireland. Photograph: David Rogers\/Getty Images <\/p>\n![\"Ireland's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/UPYH3KDBGX54PZZ3TRTMJBNDFE.jpg\")
Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park after last Thursday’s loss in Paris. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767177708414-69197743-5ee2-4403-b94c-9a36cd6b79cd.jpeg\"\/)
Are wounded Ireland vulnerable to an Italian job?<\/p>\n![\"England](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4OU2ECFCYA7A2F6TDMBVYY2WIY.jpg\")
England players during the anthems ahead of last weekend’s Six Nations first round fixture against Wales at Twickenham. Photograph: Adam Davy\/PA <\/p>\n![\"France's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770907643_301_YWMSABCNDJFVHJJHEMH5I7LYSQ.jpg\")
France’s Lenni Nouchi faces down Ireland’s Sam Prendergast during last week’s Six Nations opener in Paris. Photograph: Franco Arland\/Getty Images <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IRELAND: Jamie Osborne; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Dan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[25747,61,60,1449,132479,15551,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-294347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-andy-farrell","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-ireland-rugby","12":"tag-italy-rugby","13":"tag-six-nations","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294347","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=294347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}