The waiting goes on for Conor O’Shea. After three years as Italy’s head coach, he still has to taste victory in the Six Nations and it is set to be unlucky 13 for the former Ireland full-back when his countrymen visit Rome on Sunday.
Since losing in the Italian capital six years ago, Ireland have taken it out on the Azzurri. The average score in the past three meetings between the sides is 59-11 in favour of the Six Nations champions, who go into the game knowing that only a bonus-point victory, and a substantial contribution to their points difference, will keep them in contention for the title, regardless of the outcome in Cardiff the day before.
Italy are without their captain, Sergio Parisse, who is suffering from concussion. The hooker, Leonardo Ghiraldini, will lead the side and is the one survivor from the team that started the 22-15 victory over Ireland in 2013, their sole success against them in the championship.
“If we work on the things we can control, we will be competitive against Ireland,” said O’Shea, who won two of his 35 caps as a full-back against Italy, one of which ended in defeat in Dublin in 1997, three years before the Azzuri were added to the championship. “Our intensity must be high. The road we are on is the right one but the results must start to come too.”
With England at Twickenham to follow in a fortnight, if the start is to occur in this championship then it is most likely to be in the final round when France drop in at Stadio Olimpico on 16 March. Wales turned up in Rome two weeks ago with a largely reserve side as they tested their resources ahead of the World Cup but Ireland have chosen their strongest available back division while resting three of their front-five forwards.
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Johnny Sexton will make his first appearance in Rome since 2011, when a late drop-goal by his replacement that day, Ronan O’Gara, gave Ireland a 13-11 victory. Sexton’s deputy, Joey Carbery, suffered a hamstring strain in training on Wednesday during a session when the full-back, Jordan Larmour, and the No 8, Jack Conan, sustained injuries that put them out of contention.
“We would have started Johnny anyway as he needs game time,” said the Ireland head coach, Joe Schmidt. Sexton has been on the field for 103 minutes this year and 80 of those were spent on the back foot against England.
“We have rotated a bit at forward to give guys an opportunity and I hope they grab it with both hands.”
One of them is the hooker, Sean Cronin, who makes his first Six Nations start having sat on the bench in 33 matches in the tournament since making his debut in it as a replacement against Wales in 2010. It is only the second time since the second round in 2010 that Rory Best is not starting in the position in the championship. The flanker Peter O’Mahony leads the side in his absence.
“I am sure that Sean is excited,” said Schmidt. “He has come off the bench and made an impact any number of times so why not do it from the start? It is not that he does not know that we have faith in him. He is very much team-oriented and will want to put his best foot forward and he is up against a very experienced opponent.”
The flanker Maxime Manda is one of five changes made by O’Shea following the defeat to Wales, with Braam Steyn moving to No 8 to cover for Parisse. “I have waited a long time for this,” said Manda, who won the last of his 15 caps 11 months ago. “We have worked hard and studied Ireland who have a very unpredictable style of play.”
Unpredictability is not a charge that has often been levelled against Schmidt’s Ireland, who after the defeat to England in the opening round were accused of lacking a Plan B. Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw are missing from Ireland’s midfield but the presence of Sexton, who lasted 23 minutes against Scotland in the last round before an accumulation of hard, borderline tackles forced him off, will test a defence not renowned for its resilience.
“Johnny plays flat to the line and when you do that, you are going to get hit,” said the Ireland kicking coach, Richie Murphy. “There is a fine line between what is fair and what is not, but he is not going to change the way he plays because he would then not create holes for others. He is a confrontational character who needs to play the game he feels is best.”
