Ireland V Italy - six nations rugby

Hopefully the first of many six nations previews as Ive always found it a very profitable area for me.

Ireland V Italy

Where to begin with the Irish? The hopes of the nation were so high heading for the world cup but somewhere along the way some very serious went wrong. Failing to progress beyond the group stages was a complete disaster and rumours of in fighting, gambling addictions and marriage break ups were rife in the Irish media as several people tried to put the finger on what exactly went wrong. The truth of it is that we will never know. Where they under prepared, over prepared or what? The fact is that they never realised their potential. For me rugby is a huge confidence game, poor teams playing with great confidence are capable of upsetting the odds at any time and during the world cup the Irish confidence was at zero meaning they were up against it before the games even started. I’m quite happy to say though that despite all the troubles and the media circus that the team returned to, most of the players have got their confidence back. Ronan O Gara for example shouldered most of the blame when he returned to Ireland but has been in irresistible form since then and has single handedly dragged Munster into the quarterfinals of the Heineken cup. All the Irish contingent playing at Leinster have got their form back too despite being knocked out of the Heineken cup at the group stages.

Eddie O Sullivan is not my favourite person but a stubborn character and he is giving his team the chance to redeem themselves with other than the four players unavailable through injury, suspension and retirement, he has kept faith with the remaining members of the starting line-up that was whacked 30-15 by Argentina. Eoin Reddan has retained the scrum-half jersey keeping Stringer on the bench.
Ulster hooker Rory Best will start ahead of Bernard Jackman, Malcolm O'Kelly will join Donncha O'Callaghan at lock while Geordan Murphy and Andrew Trimble were named on the wings.

Italy are also coming off the back of a poor world cup campaign. Their aim in this tournament every year is to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon and they will quietly fancy their chances of achieving this with Scotland in their final home game. It would be silly of me to write the Italians off, as they are a tough tackling heavy hitting side. However their fitness often catches them out and when they go behind they tend to slip away as the game progresses. Nick Mallett has surprised many with his selection for Italy's starting first fifteen this weekend. He has named Andrea Masi - a centre by trade - at fly half in place of the dropped Ramiro Pez which could leave Italy exposed in the half backs. The Biarritz man, making only his first Test start at number 10, will be partnered by Pietro Travagli, who will be earning only his third cap so they will be largely inexperienced in some quarters

Verdict
The temporary home of Irish rugby is Croke Park and it’s an 85,000 ticket sellout. Im not sure how many of you reading this have been there but I can tell you its one of the best stadiums in the world and on a packed day the atmosphere is something amazing. I really think that the day will get to the Italians, as they will not be used to playing in this kind of atmosphere. They are inexperienced in some sections and are facing a really fired up Irish side.
As I mentioned before these Irish players were heavily criticised in the Irish media a few months back and have a lot to prove to the fans and to themselves.
Anything other than a comfortable home win will be viewed as a disaster and I expect them to get it. Ireland beat a much better England by thirty points here last season and also cruised past Italy 51 – 24 in Rome. The 16 point handicap at bet365 should be covered with a few to spare.

Good luck!


PICK
Ireland - 16 points ( 2 @ bet365) 6 points