Farrell rings the changes as Ireland welcome Italy to Dublin
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Ireland coach Andy Farrell has made six changes to the side that will host Italy at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
Ireland return home for their first 2026 Championship clash in Dublin, with Caelan Doris named to captain the side once again and Munster’s uncapped second row Edwin Edogbo in line for his Test debut in green off the bench.
Edogbo has impressed the coaches in camp in recent weeks and earns his place in the starting line-up for the first time, having this season returned from a long injury lay-off to score three tries in nine Munster appearances.
Jamie Osborne continues at fullback for Ireland, with Rob Baloucoune, who makes his Six Nations debut, and James Lowe selected to start on the wings. Stuart McCloskey and Garry Ringrose are retained in midfield, while Craig Casey comes in to form the half-back partnership with Sam Prendergast.
In the pack, Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, and Thomas Clarkson make up an unchanged front row, with Joe McCarthy and James Ryan in the engine room. Cormac Izuchukwu starts at blindside flanker for his Six Nations debut in green, with captain Doris shifting to openside and Jack Conan coming in to start at number eight.
Farrell has plenty of experience to call on as Tadhg Furlong returns to fitness to be included in the Match Day 23, joining Rónan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, the uncapped Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne, and Nick Timoney as the forward replacements. Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley are the backline options, completing Ireland’s bench.
Commenting ahead of Saturday, Farrell said: “Saturday provides us with a great opportunity in front of a packed home crowd at Aviva Stadium. We’ve had some great battles against Italy in recent years, and Saturday will be no different.
“We know we have to reach a consistently high standard, and that’s the exciting challenge that awaits us. There has been a positive reaction in training this week, and we’ll aim to keep on building into the weekend.”
Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14. Robert Baloucoune, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Stuart McCloskey, 11. James Lowe, 10. Sam Prendergast, 9. Craig Casey, 8. Jack Conan, 7. Caelan Doris (c), 6. Cormac Izuchukwu, 5. James Ryan, 4. Joe McCarthy, 3. Thomas Clarkson, 2. Dan Sheehan, 1. Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16. Rónan Kelleher, 17. Tom O’Toole, 18. Tadhg Furlong, 19. Edwin Edogbo, 20. Tadhg Beirne, 21. Nick Timoney, 22. Jamison Gibson-Park, 23. Jack Crowley
Date: Saturday, January 14
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14.10 (15.10 CET; 14.10 GMT)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
