Irish stick with tried and tested
Ireland named an unchanged side here Tuesday for this weekend’s Six Nations clash with Italy at Lansdowne Road.
Coach Declan Kidney picked the same XV which had been due to play France a fortnight ago before the match in Paris was called off at the last minute.
The game will see centre Gordon D’Arcy win his 65th cap for Ireland, 13 years after making his debut against Romania in 1999.
The uncapped Peter O’Mahony is included on the bench.
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O’Connell (captain), 4 Donncha O’Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Peter O’Mahony, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O’Gara, 22 Fergus McFadden.
Date: Saturday, February 25
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 13.30 (13.30 GMT)
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), David Changleng (Scotland)
TMO: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
AFP
