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Ireland will take on Italy at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Sunday as the second round of matches in the 2024 Six Nations Championship comes to a close.
The Men in Green made a fantastic start to the defence of their fourth Grand Slam title in Marseille on opening night, scoring five tries in total in their biggest-ever away win in France to deliver an emphatic statement that they are back in full swing after their devastating World Cup quarter-final exit last year.
Andy Farrell's side will be full of confidence in following up on that superb victory with another win here back on home comforts as they wrap up round two on Sunday.
The Italians, meanwhile, pushed England all the way in their opening game in Rome. The final score was 27-24 in favour of the English, however, Italy had the majority of control in the first 30 minutes, as they were leading 17-8 at one point. However, in the second half, they were unable to breach England's tweaked defence.
While new coach Gonzalo Quesada has already shown the improvements his side have been quick to make under his tutelage, they still enter this contest as big underdogs.
Ireland vs Italy date and kickoff time
| Date | Sunday, February 11, 2024 |
| Kickoff time | 3:00pm GMT |
| Venue | Aviva Stadium |
| Location | Dublin, Ireland |
| Referee | Luke Pearce (England) |
How to watch Ireland vs Italy on TV & stream live online
NBC Sports is the rights holder for the tournament in the USA and will be showing every game of the 2024 Six Nations live, while Six Nations matches will also be available to watch on CNBC (on delay).
With every fixture shown on NBC, the easiest and cheapest option is to invest in a Peacock subscription. The streaming service of NBC costs just $5.99 per month for the Premium Plan, which will allow you to watch all Six Nations fixtures, including the blockbuster opener between Ireland and Italy.
There's also no contract with this service, meaning you could essentially subscribe for two months while the tournament is on and cancel following it.
Streaming the game with a VPN
- Overview of VPN services that allow access to geo-restricted streams
- How to set up and use a VPN service to stream the match
You can watch the game from wherever you are in the world by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service such as NordVPN/ ExpressVPN. A VPN will allow you to create a secure connection online when you are abroad on holiday or for work and you want to stream the game live.
If you are not sure which VPN to use or how to use a VPN, we have taken a look at the best options available out there for watching live sports - check out the best VPN services review here.
Here’s an easy step-by-step guide on how to use a VPN to watch a game when you are overseas:
- Install VPN of your choice - see our reviews here for the best options.
- Select the location you wish to connect to. This is easy - if you are visiting the UK and you wish to continue watching one of your U.S. streaming services, you would select the US.
- Grab the popcorn and get ready to watch!
Ireland vs Italy team news & starting lineup
Ireland team news
Andy Farrell has made six changes to the starting XV for Ireland's second match in the Six Nations against Italy at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.
Four of the alterations from the opening day win over France are in the pack, where Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Ryan Baird and Jack Conan are all promoted from the replacements after their bright performances against France, while in the backs Craig Casey and Stuart McCloskey are introduced after being left out of last week's matchday squad to start from the outset.
Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park are picked as replacements from last week's starting XV, while Bundee Aki, Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, and Peter O'Mahony have dropped out of the 23 entirely.
O'Mahony, in particular, has been ruled out for this match after being forced off in their opener against France, thus Caelan Doris will lead the side and switch from number eight to openside flanker.
Ireland starting lineup: Keenan; Nash, Henshaw, McCloskey, Lowe; Crowley, Casey; Porter, Sheehan, Bealham; McCarthy, Ryan; Baird, Doris (c), Conan
Replacements: Kelleher, Loughman, O'Toole, Henderson, Van der Flier, Gibson-Park, Byrne, Larmour
Italy team news
Italy suffered another major blow in the pack on Thursday, with back-rowers Lorenzo Cannone and Edoardo Iachizzi both ruled out due to injury, having already lost Sebastian Negri to a rib issue.
The Azzurri do at least have star man Ange Capuozzo back from the sickness that forced him to miss the defeat at the hands of England as Lorenzo Pani took his place, while centre Tommaso Menoncello marked his return in Rome after missing the World Cup through injury.
Gonzalo Quesada has made four changes to his starting lineup for Sunday's game, with Capuozzo replacing Allan at full-back and Stephen Varney taking over Alessandro Garbisi, who is omitted from the matchday squad.
In the forwards, there are two forced changes due to the absence of back-row players Sebastian Negri and Cannone, who both withdrew earlier this week due to injuries. Michele Lamaro will switch from openside flanker to number eight, Manuel Zuliani will start at number seven and Alessandro Izekor will make his first Test start as he slots in for Negri on the blindside.
Italy starting lineup: Capuozzo; Pani, Brex, Menoncello, Ioane; P Garbisi, Varney; Fischetti, Lucchesi, Ceccarelli; N Cannone, Ruzza; Izekor, Zuliani, Lamaro (c)
Replacements: Nicotera, Spagnolo, Zilocchi, Zambonin, Vintcent, Page-Relo, Allan, Mori
Ireland vs Italy head-to-head record
It has been 11 years since Italy's only Six Nations victory over Ireland, which came in Rome in 2013, with a score of 22-15. Ireland have won every other rugby game between the two nations across all boards since the turn of the century, including the last 14 in a row. Italy lost 33-17 in Dublin during last summer's World Cup warm-ups.
| Date | Fixture | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 11.02.23 | Ireland 32-19 France | Six Nations |
| 12.02.22 | France 30-24 Ireland | Six Nations |
| 14.02.21 | Ireland 13-15 France | Six Nations |
| 01.11.20 | France 35-27 Ireland | Six Nations |
| 10.03.19 | Ireland 26-14 France | Six Nations |