All you need to know ahead of Ireland vs Italy in the Six Nations on Saturday – kick-off time, TV channel, live stream, team news, head-to-head, odds
Ireland are set to face Italy at the Aviva this afternoon, hoping to bounce back from a disappointing start against France in Paris last week.
Andy Farrell has made six changes to the team that lost to France, with Robert Baloucoune, James Lowe, James Ryan, Cormac Izuchukwu and Jack Conan joining the line-up, whilst Caelan Doris moves from no8 to no7.
In contrast, Italy arrive in Dublin on a high after defeating Scotland in Rome last Saturday.
Five of their starting XV play for clubs outside Italy – Monty Ioane (Lyon), Paolo Garbisi (Toulon), Danilo Fischetti (Northampton), Giacomo Notera (Stade Francais) and Andrea Zambonin (Exeter).
Here’s what you need to know about the match:, reports the Irish Mirror.
Who: Ireland vs Italy.
What: 2026 Six Nations Championship.
Where: Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
When: Saturday, Feb 14th.
Kick-off time? 2.10pm.
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland), who is set to become the first woman to referee a men’s Six Nations game.
Did you know?
Ireland and Italy have faced off 73 times; Ireland have won 69 times, whilst Italy have claimed victory four times.
Other second round matches include: Scotland vs England at Murrayfield, and Wales vs France on Sunday at 3.10pm.
First round results were: France 36-14 Ireland; Italy 18-15 Scotland; England 48-7 Wales.
Quotes corner.
Andy Farrell (Ireland coach): “We just happen to have lost a lot of experience and people are coming in. We have a lot of new caps and certainly a lot of players under 10 caps particularly
“They have to go through this and they have to go through Paris to learn, along with the players that we have not got that are injured and the players who we are giving this experience to down the track. You always have to go through a little bit of pain to get to that point in all generations.”
Italy’s Coach, Gonzalo Quesada, commented on the victory over Scotland: “It’s yet another demonstration of our maturity. The players who had been used less often performed very well. We showed great character. We never let the expectations placed on us influence us.
“It’s nice to raise expectations ahead of Ireland, to make calculations, to think about future results. This happens when you sense that great results are possible, but we know where we still need to improve and we must keep our feet on the ground.”
Ireland’s number 8, Jack Conan, reflected: “I don’t know if fallout is the right word, but yeah, look, we weren’t at the level at all, were we? I think physically more than anything else with our intent, I think we allowed them 18 offloads or something like that. And with a team like that, when they get in behind you, they’re really hard to stop. So I think our probably physical intent was the area that let us down the most.”
Did you know?
The last three encounters saw Ireland triumph 22-17 in Rome 2025, 36-0 in Dublin 2024 and 33-17 in Rome in 2023.
Betting odds: Ireland 1/12. Draw 40/1.
Italy 15/2.
Handicap: Ireland -16 points.
Six Nations outright odds: France 1/2, England 21/10, Ireland 30/1, Scotland 35/1, Italy 75/1, Wales 500/1.
Popular Bets include: Dan Sheehan as first try-scorer at 6/1, anytime try-scorer at 4/6; Craig Casey as Man of the Match at 11/1; Tommaso Menoncello as Man of the Match at 33/1; Each team to score seven or more points in each half at 9/4.
The match on Saturday will be broadcast live on Virgin Media One and ITV. Live radio commentary will be available on RTE Radio 1.
Team Line-Ups:.
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.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Tadhg Furlong, Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Crowley.
Italy: Lorenzo Pani; Louis Lynagh, Tommaso Menoncello, Leonardo Marin, Monty Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Alessandro Fusco; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari, Niccolò Cannone, Andrea Zambonin, Michele Lamaro (capt), Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone,.
Replacements: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Mirco Spagnolo, Muhamed Hasa, Federico Ruzza, Riccardo Favretto, David Odiase, Alessandro Garbisi, Paolo Odogwu.

