Ireland vs Italy live: Azzurri eye Six Nations upset as hosts bid to bounce back from France defeat

It’s worth reflecting on the significance of Italy’s win over Scotland, which came not as a real shock but more evidence of their improvement. Remember that Gonzalo Quesada’s side are missing a host of regular starters, from Marco Riccioni on the tighthead to Seb Negri and Ross Vintcent in the back row and all the way to Ange Capuozzo, Edoardo Todaro and co. in the back three.

Capuozzo is back in camp and may be amongst things later in the championship, but a player like Leonardo Marin is a great example of the depth they’ve built - having filled in very impressively at No 15, he reverts into a midfield pairing with Tommaso Menoncello that has gone well for Benetton this season.

Edwin Edogbo is set to make his first international appearance this afternoon, a moment that might have arrived sooner if not for a frustrating run of injuries. Here’s what we wrote about the talented lock when we picked him out as one of our new faces to watch ahead of the tournament:

Italy are forced into a backline reshuffle with Juan Ignacio Brex unavailable for personal reasons. Leonardo Marin moves forward from full-back to fill in at inside centre, necessitating the introduction of Lorenzo Pani to the back three and shifting of Tommaso Menoncello to 13.

The bench is a six forwards to two backs split, with David Odiase and Paolo Odogwu bolstering the unit.

Italy XV: 1 Danilo Fischetti, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 3 Simone Ferrari; 4 Niccolo Cannone, 5 Andrea Zambonin; 6 Michele Lamaro (capt.), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 8 Lorenzo Cannone; 9 Alessandro Fusco, 10 Paolo Garbisi; 11 Monty Ioane, 12 Leonardo Marin, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 14 Louis Lynagh; 15 Lorenzo Pani.

Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 David Odiase; 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Paolo Odogwu.

It is a new-look Irish side in places as Ulster pair Cormac Izuchukwu and Robert Baloucoune set for their first involvement in the Six Nations. Flanker Izuchukwu joins a shuffled back row with captain Caelan Doris deployed on the openside and Jack Conan promoted to start at No 8, while Baloucoune and a recalled James Lowe are the wings.

Talented Munster lock Edwin Edogbo is primed for an international debut from the bench.

Ireland XV: 1 Jeremy Loughman, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Thomas Clarkson; 4 Joe McCarthy, 5 James Ryan; 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 7 Caelan Doris (capt.), 8 Jack Conan; 9 Craig Casey, 10 Sam Prendergast; 11 James Lowe, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 13 Garry Ringrose, 14 Robert Baloucoune; 15 Jamie Osborne.

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.

Right, kick off is speeding into view at the Aviva Stadium. Let’s take a closer look at the two teams...

Both teams would normally be readying themselves for a rest weekend after this second fixture, but the change of schedule for this year’s championship means there is just one fallow week in which the Six Nations sides can take stock. It makes this all the more important for Ireland, particularly, who could find themselves reeling into a meeting with England at Twickenham next week.

"It's no longer a case of them just being a very passionate team," said Caelan Doris of Italy this week.

"They've got a properly good attack now, defensively they've always been pretty strong and are willing to get off the line and hit properly and you saw that last week in the wet conditions.

"Their scrum has improved quite a lot, they've got a big pack but I think probably their biggest weapon is their attack with the back three they have, with some of the forwards, their ability to play at the line, but also pull it back, play wide and deep.

"For us it all starts with the collision."

Another good sign for Italy is the talent coming through their U20s program, which has been consistently competitive for several years after hard work by Conor O’Shea to remodel the pathways during his stint as Azzurri head coach. Ireland ultimately edged a 30-27 thriller last night in Cork, but it was a proper contest.

It is 13 years since Italy secured their fourth win over Ireland, but there is growing hope that run could end today. The Azzurri were unfortunate not to come out victorious last year at the Stadio Olimpico, although their record at the Aviva Stadium in the Six Nations is wretched: in seven previous championship meetings here, the average scoreline is 49-10 to the hosts.

Italy captain Michele Lamaro has insisted his side are fully focussed on playing their own game as they seek history in Dublin.

"We want to get to Dublin and play our game,” Lamaro beganThey've had a few extra days to train, and they're coming off a defeat on the opening day. It'll be tough: we need to prepare as best we can and be ready for a battle. We want to try to maintain consistency.

“Too long-term goals can distract us from what we can actually control. Our main goal is to improve our performance game after game. Obviously, we never stop dreaming and we always go out there to win, but as we've always said, the result depends on the performance, and the one in Dublin will have to be even better than the one against Scotland."