Ireland U20s hope elements in Italy work in their favour

Under-20 Six Nations Championship

Italy Under-20s v Ireland Under-20s
Stadio Pozzi Lamamora (Friday, 6.0, Irish time)

A five-inch blanket of snow lies over the town of Biella in Piedmont, northern Italy, which makes for a picturesque, winter setting but that vista loses a little of its enchantment when it compromises preparations for Ireland's opening game in the championship.

Overnight rain was forecast with the expectation that the snow would melt – daytime temperatures are about six degrees – and the game would go ahead at the listed venue. The Italians though have an alternative venue on standby as a contingency.

It's a first tournament under new head coach Nigel Carolan and there is a genuine anticipation that given the talent in the squad, Ireland will offer an entertaining brand of rugby.

Injury issues

There were several injury issues over the past week. Ulster centre cum wing Jacob Stockdale wasn’t considered for selection while Connacht’s Ciarán Gaffney, a starter on the wing last year, pulled a hamstring in training.

He may be back in time for the penultimate weekend of the tournament but the news was worse for Munster hooker Seán McNulty, who damaged a shoulder with five minutes to go of Tuesday's training. He is likely to miss the entire championship but will concentrate on being back in time for the World Championship in June. His absence means that Ulster's Adam McBurney is named among the replacements.

The Irish side will be hoping for decent underfoot conditions to unleash very gifted backs, spearheaded by centre Garry Ringrose. Fergal Cleary lines out at inside centre but is also an accomplished outhalf.

Fullback Billy Dardis is no longer hampered by injury concerns while the visitors possess serious pace on the wings in Greg O’Shea and Jack Owens.

Last year's halfbacks return, Ross Byrne and scrumhalf Nick McCarthy, who takes over the captaincy.

Ireland do not possess the biggest pack in bulk terms, even by their standards, but are well equipped athletically.

Three of the pack, tighthead Oisín Heffernan and flankers Josh Murphy and Rory Moloney return from last year. Replacements Nick Timoney, Cian Romaine and Joe Carbery are capable of helping to change up any game.

The Italians, under the coaching baton of former international scrumhalf Alessandro Troncon, are more fluid at underage level in the way they play the game than the senior team of old. Ireland had to work hard for their 18-0 victory last year in Dubarry Park.

The visitors will have to be very accurate at the scrum to satisfy Welsh referee Dan Jones. A solid set piece would certainly be an ideal launch pad for their backs.

The limited time to prepare and the fact that it is a first outing means that there's likely to be some ring rust. But if Ireland can get front foot ball then they possess the calibre of backs to capitalise on it.

ITALY: G De Santis; L Sperandio, M Gabbianelli, E Lucchin, Y Agbasse; M Azzolini, L Petrozzi; D Dallavalle, L Luus (capt), P Buonfiglio; D Zanetti, D Fragnito; M Archetti, D Bergamin, R Giammarioli. Replacements: V Barbuscia, E Makelara, F Pavesi, U D'Onofrio, M Cornelli, R Raffaele, M Minozzi, T Beraldin.
IRELAND: B Dardis (Leinster); G O'Shea (Munster), G Ringrose (Leinster), F Cleary (Leinster), J Owens (Ulster); R Byrne (Leinster), N McCarthy (Leinster, capt); J Loughman (Leinster), Z McCall (Ulster), O Heffernan (Leinster); D O'Connor (Leinster), A Thompson (Ulster); J Murphy (Leinster), R Moloney (Connacht), L Dow (Ulster). Replacements: A McBurney (Ulster), M Lagan (Ulster), C O'Donnell (Connacht), C Romaine (Connacht), N Timoney (Leinster), J Cullen (Munster), J Carbery (Leinster), S Arnold (Ulster).
Referee: D Jones (Wales).