UNDER-18 FIVE NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Italy v Ireland:IRELAND WERE able to overcome the various physical disadvantages they encountered against Wales on the opening day of the Under-18 Five Nations to strike a blow for the IRFU's commitment to a slow-cooking method of developing their elite young players.
The next challenge is to put back-to-back performances together against what is reputed to be a larger than life Italian side, somewhere between the Welsh and English.
The Italians were shell-shocked by an opening-day, nine-try, 61-3 hammering by an all-powerful England side. It will have taken some wind from their sails as they quickly returned to the drawing board.
However, there is some concern that they may have targeted the Irish as their most likely win at this level and kept their heavier artillery for today.
The commonsense approach would be to tie the Irish forwards into a dog-fight, keep the ball within a reasonable distance of their pack and look to drain the Irish of their will to play it that way.
That will be easier in theory than in practice, as the Irish already beat the Italians 15-12 at Christmas without a build-up. They have improved out of all knowledge, with a sound-enough preparation for the competition.
The tournament rules dictate that every player in the squad must start at least one match. The Irish retain just four players from the 22-15 win over Wales. Tiernan O’Halloran moves from the wing into the centre. Chris Colvin switches wings. Lineout specialist David O’Mahony and openside David Doyle are retained in the pack. Pres Cork hooker Niall Scannell will take over the captaincy.
IRELAND UNDER-18: F Doherty (Gonzaga); C Colvin (Royal, Armagh), T O'Halloran (Cistercian, Roscrea), B Sargent (Crescent), S Coghlan-Murray (Newbridge); J McKinney (Campbell), H Doyle (Royal, Armagh); R Harrison (Methodist), N Scannell (PBC, Cork, capt), C Carey (Methodist), D O'Mahony (PBC, Cork); S Buckley (Rockwell), E McMahon (St Michael's), D Doyle (Gonzaga), C Mallon (St Michael's).
