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'Ireland are a different team with Johnny Sexton in it, and that's the reality'
Ireland will be hoping to make a statement this weekend in the Guinness Six Nations when they face Italy in Dublin after their dream of a Grand Slam was dashed against France.
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After topping the table in round one, Andy Farrell’s side slipped to third following a narrow loss to Les Bleus in Paris, but a strong win will put them back in the hunt for the title. Meanwhile, the visitors will want to arrest their 34-match losing streak in the Six Nations.
Ireland have also welcomed James Lowe back to their squad this week, as well as his uncapped Leinster teammate Jimmy O’Brien.
When, where and how to watch the match
The match will kick-off at 15:00 (UK) on Sunday February 27th at the Aviva Stadium and will be broadcast live on ITV in the UK, Virgin Media in Ireland, Stan Sport in Australia and SuperSport in South Africa.
Head-to-head
It is nine years since Italy recorded their only win over Ireland in the Six Nations, and fourth overall, and are currently on an eleven-match losing streak to Sunday’s hosts. Ireland will be seeking to register their 30th win over the Azzurri in 35 meetings.
Match odds from bet365
bet365 have the handicap on Ireland at -38, and the first half handicap at -18. There are also 100/1 odds that Italy win the match by a margin of 1-5 points.
Six Nations Early Payout Offer with bet365*
Single bets paid out as winners, if the team you back goes 15 points ahead – for multiple bets the selection will be marked as a winner.
Only available to new and eligible customers. Bet restrictions and T&Cs apply. 18+ BeGambleAware.org
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Prediction
Former Ireland flanker Alan Quinlan gave his verdict on who he thinks should start out of Johnny Sexton and Joey Carbery against the Italians on Off The Ball this week, while still talking up Ireland’s chances of winning the Championship.
“I just think with Johnny Sexton, what he does is better than what Joey Carbery does at the moment,” the 27-cap Irishman said.
“I just think Sexton’s experience and the type of player he is, the way he can really take physical exchanges and take the ball to the gainline and his execution of pass in that really pressurised situation is world class and that’s what has made his a world class player for a long, long period of time.
“I think Ireland can still win the Championship. France have got to go to Scotland, they’ve got to go to Cardiff and they’ve got to play England in the last one. They’ve got to be really, really good for three games on the trot. They probably are capable of that, but I said it before the start of the tournament I didn’t think there would be a Grand Slam winner.
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“I just think Ireland are a different team with Johnny Sexton in it, and that’s the reality.”
*Odds accurate as of 22/02/22.
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments