Ireland v Italy

RBS 6 Nations
Venue: Croke Park Date: Saturday, 6 February 2010 Kick-off: 1430 GMT
Coverage: Watch on BBC One and the BBC Sport website; listen on BBC Radio 5 live; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles

MATCH PREVIEW

Brian O'Driscoll captained Ireland to Grand Slam glory

Now that the tag of 'nearly men' has well and truly been shed, there is a real feeling that the current Ireland squad can leave an indelible mark on the Six Nations history books.

A first Grand Slam since 1948 and a calendar year unbeaten has raised expectations that Declan Kidney's star-studded and, importantly, settled squad can push on and repeat the success of last year - a feat, though, that is easier said than done.

Only France in 1997/98 in the professional era have managed consecutive slams and even the iconic Welsh sides of the '70s failed to do it. So history is not on their side, but the message from the squad is strong, there will be no let-up and history is there to be made.

Players from both countries were set to see a lot more of each other over the forthcoming years until the Italian Rugby Federation withdrew this week from talks to join the Magners League, claiming they were being priced out of negotiations.

This came as a bitter blow to Italy coach Nick Mallet, who saw the move as crucial to improving the long-term future of Italian club rugby and therefore the national side.

606: DEBATE

Have your say on Saturday's match

Italy enter their second decade as part of the Six Nations with much to ponder. Four Wooden Spoons in the last five years is scant return for a team that periodically threatened to claim major scalps.

Craig Gower, the highly-controversial former Australian rugby league captain, is entrusted as one of two players Mallet will build his 2011 World Cup squad around. The other is Sergio Parisse, the captain, lynchpin and inspirational heartbeat of the team, who will sadly be absent this year as he recovers from knee surgery.

Any nation that can summon 80,000 spectators for a friendly, as Italy did for their clash with New Zealand last year, deserves success. It is just a shame the current squad still look incapable of providing it.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Italy beat Ireland three times between 1995-97 before they entered the Six Nations Championship.

• But Ireland have won the last 13 matches in succession between the sides.

• The average score between the sides in the past decade is 35-15 in Ireland's favour with a try count of four to one.

Ireland

• Ireland did not lose a match in 2009, enjoying nine wins and one draw and Declan Kidney's side won Ireland's first Grand Slam title since 1948.

• John Hayes is playing in his 50th successive Six Nations match since making his debut against Scotland in 2000.

• Ronan O'Gara is the Six Nations' all-time record points scorer with 499.

Italy

• Italy won only one of their 11 games in 2009, their last match of the year v Samoa in November.

• The Azzurri's only away win since the 2007 World Cup was 13-12 v Argentina in 2008.

• Salvatore Perugini is the only Italian who will have played in all of Italy's 11 Six Nations campaigns.

TEAM LINE-UPS

Ireland: 15-Rob Kearney, 14-Tommy Bowe, 13-Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12-Gordon D'Arcy, 11-Andrew Trimble, 10-Ronan O'Gara, 9-Tomas O'Leary; 1-Cian Healy, 2-Jerry Flannery, 3-John Hayes, 4-Leo Cullen, 5-Paul O'Connell, 6-Kevin McLaughlin, 7-David Wallace, 8-Jamie Heaslip,

Replacements: 16-Rory Best, 17-Tom Court, 18-Donnacha Ryan, 19-Sean O'Brien, 20-Eoin Reddan, 21-Paddy Wallace, 22-Keith Earls.

Italy: 15-Luke McLean, 14-Kaine Robertson, 13-Gonzalo Canale, 12-Gonzalo Garcia, 11-Mirco Bergamasco, 10-Craig Gower, 9-Tito Tebaldi; 1-Salvatore Perugini, 2-Leonardo Ghiraldini (captain), 3-Martin Castrogiovanni, 4-Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 5-Quintin Geldenhuys, 6-Josh Sole, 7-Mauro Bergamasco, 8-Alessandro Zanni.

Replacements: 16-Fabio Ongaro, 17-Matias Aguero, 18-Marco Bortolami, 19-Paul Derbyshire, 20-Simon Picone, 21-Riccardo Bocchino, 22-Andrea Masi.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Touch judges: Christophe Berdos & Jerome Garces (France)

TV: Geoff Warren (England)

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