Ireland v Italy - Preview

After last season's fifth-place finish, it is testament to the work of head coach Joe Schmidt that there is an element of disappointment that Ireland are playing merely for the Six Nations title and nothing more in 2014.

England crushed Ireland's Grand Slam and Triple Crown dreams at Twickenham last time out, doing just enough to stop a side whose previous displays against Scotland and Wales suggested they were the juggernaut that would not be stopped.

Of all the teams - Ireland, England, France and Wales - that go into the penultimate weekend with hopes of the championship alive, Schmidt's side have the most appetising tie.

England and Wales will bash each other up at Twickenham for the privilege of retaining interest in the silverware, while France travel to a Scotland side lifted by their first win of 2014 last time out. Italy, on the other hand, are the only nation without a win this series.

Not that Schmidt is taking the challenge lightly. He was not involved in Rome 12 months ago when Ireland lost to the Italians for the first time in 18 games - a defeat that arguably led to Declan Kidney's exit - but Schmidt is all too aware of the threat.

Jacques Brunel's Italy have not picked up a point so far but in Michele Campagnaro they have a pacy centre in form with three tries in five games, while restored fly-half Luciano Orquera was a thorn in Ireland's side with his dangerous kicking game.

With that in mind, Schmidt spoke of respect in his pre-match news conference, and of avoiding over-confidence. The astute former Leinster boss has moulded his players tactically, and the evidence is there from their 2014 revival that they also absorb his mantra mentally. The temptation to look to France as the big decider has been well and truly rubbished by the Kiwi; focus remains on Italy until the 80 minutes are up.

One man whose memories of the 2013 defeat in Rome are particularly sour is Brian O'Driscoll. Yellow-carded for only the second time in his Ireland career, he received a three-week ban for stamping. In what will be a record-breaking 140th Test, he has the chance to create a happier memory on his final home appearance.

Jonny Sexton retains his place at 10 after overcoming a thumb injury picked up in the England game, although in-form flanker Peter O'Mahony is out with a hamstring injury. Iain Henderson steps up from the bench to take the blind-side berth.

For Italy, skipper Sergio Parisse is rested as a result of a calf strain, while Alessandro Zanni's 58-match run in the Italy side has come to an end after he returned to Treviso with a knee sprain.

In their place, Brunel has recalled Marco Bortolami - who captains the side - and Paul Derbyshire comes in. There are changes in the halves with Orquera and Tito Tebaldi preferred to the benched duo of Edoardo Gori and Tommy Allan.

Ireland : 15-Rob Kearney; 14-Andrew Trimble, 13-Brian O'Driscoll, 12-Gordon D'Arcy, 11-Dave Kearney; 10-Jonny Sexton, 9-Conor Murray; 1-Cian Healy, 2-Rory Best, 3-Mike Ross, 4-Devin Toner, 5-Paul O'Connell, 6-Iain Henderson, 7-Chris Henry, 8-Jamie Heaslip

Replacements: 16-Sean Cronin, 17-Jack McGrath, 18-Martin Moore, 19-Rhys Ruddock, 20-Jordi Murphy, 21-Eoin Reddan, 22-Paddy Jackson, 23-Fergus McFadden

Italy : 15-Luke McLean; 14-Angelo Esposito, 13-Michele Campagnaro, 12-Gonzalo Garcia, 11-Leonardo Sarto; 10-Luciano Orquera, 9-Tito Tebaldi; 1-Alberto De Marchi, 2-Leonardo Ghiraldini, 3-Martin Castrogiovanni, 4-Quintin Geldenhuys, 5-Marco Bortolami, 6-Joshua Furno, 7-Paul Derbyshire, 8-Robert Barbieri

Replacements: 16-Davide Giazzon, 17-Michele Rizzo, 18-Lorenzo Cittadini, 19-Antonio Pavanello, 20-Manoa Vosawai, 21-Edoardo Gori, 22-Tommy Allan, 23-Andrea Masi

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee : Nigel Owens (Wales)

Touch judges : Pascal Gauzere (France) & Greg Garner (England)

TV : Geoff Warren (England)

Related articles

• Italy pair set to break record
• Ireland vs Italy 6 Nations Rugby: Game Time, Date, TV Channel, Live Streaming
• Iain Henderson replaces Peter O'Mahony for clash with Italy
• Six Nations Round 4 Preview - Who Are You Picking?
• Five players from the Americas in Italian Six Nations Squad
• Italy can upset France - Brunel

Henry Says Ireland Puma Ready

Getty Images

Ireland flanker Chris Henry has revealed training has taken on a combative edge as they approach Saturday's clash against Argentina.

The losers will drop out of the world's top eight and be left with the prospect of being drawn in a World Cup group with two major nations in 2015.

"The atmosphere is boiling up," Ulster's Henry said.

" Losing two weeks ago [against South Africa] was one of the hardest moments I've had to face in my rugby career."

Henry added: "I didn't think it would hurt as much, but it did.

"Everyone put everything into South Africa and that was disappointing, but we're not far off.

"It's been bubbling this week. Not everyone trained on Monday, but it definitely started to bubble yesterday. That was the edgiest training session of this campaign."

However, Henry insisted that the attitude and morale in Declan Kidney's squad is good heading into Saturday's vital game.

"In teams I've been involved in before, if you're edgy at this stage of the week and you're getting tetchy with your team-mates, then that's a good sign," he said.

"Last Saturday's win against Fiji wasn't a Test but it was still great to score tries and enjoy rugby again.

"If we can get the balance of that enjoyment and the hurt of South Africa, we'll be in a good place."

Henry acknowledges that another home defeat at the Aviva Stadium would be a major blow to the Irish squad.

"For me it's about Ireland playing at home. We don't want to lose at Aviva Stadium again and that's what we're holding on to."

Kidney is not expected to deviate too much from his selection for the South Africa defeat, although Craig Gilroy is being tipped to edge out his Ulster team-mate Andrew Trimble for a starting spot after scoring a hat-trick of tries in the 53-0 win over Fiji in Limerick.

The Pumas defeated Wales 26-12 on 10 November but were beaten 39-22 by France last weekend.

LAST SIX MEETINGS

Nov 2010 Ireland 29-9 Argentina

Nov 2008 Ireland 17-3 Argentina

Sep 2007 (WC) Ireland 15-30 Argentina

Jun 2007 Argentina 16-0 Ireland

May 2007 Argentina 22-20 Ireland

Nov 2004 Ireland 21-19 Argentina

Related articles

• Puma's World Cup Test for Kidney
• Ireland v Fiji - Preview
• Captain Heaslip Leads Ireland v Boks
• National Sport: Heaslip named Ireland skipper
• Kidney's New Kids on the Block
• Ireland v South Africa - Preview

Ireland v Fiji - Preview

Getty Images

Flirting with a disastrous fall into the third tier of seeds for the 2015 World Cup, all because of their worst run for 14 years, Ireland's rugby team has its back to the wall.

Under-pressure coach Declan Kidney will want his 'XV' to tear Fiji apart in Limerick. But showing that the future could be bright, and that the present isn't as bad as it seems, is nothing but a means to an end.

The next proper Test, against Argentina a week on Saturday, is looking like a must-win fixture: "a World Cup qualifier in lots of ways," says Kidney, perhaps all too aware that his future could well rely upon a positive result.

Emphatic winners against Wales, the South Americans replaced Ireland in seventh place in the latest IRB standings. And though the permutations are hugely complicated, Ireland could even be shunted out of the top eight if Scotland can repeat their 2010 win over South Africa.

Results in Cardiff and Paris will also have an effect. But because the Irish Rugby Union opted for a non-cap international against Fiji, rather than a full Test with ranking points at stake, there is nothing they can do but cheer on the Springboks three hours before their own match kicks off.

Should Scotland lose, the atmosphere in Limerick will no doubt be lifted… and, after wiping their brow, fans might lick their lips at the prospect of watching a much-changed side.

Debutants can often quicken the pulse, and there'll be three to witness - Ulster trio Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy and Paddy Jackson - while just three players remain after the demoralising South Africa loss (prop Mike Ross, scrum-half Conor Murray and captain Jamie Heaslip).

Scotland happen to be the last team that Ireland beat, back on 10 March, but Fiji should prove more malleable than England, Barbarians and New Zealand - the teams Ireland have lost to since.

Inoke Male's men are ranked just 14th in the world by the IRB, behind Canada, and were walloped by England at Twickenham, where woeful discipline saw them concede 20 penalties. They also lost 31-29 to Gloucester on Tuesday, having been 18-0 up after 33 minutes. This is clearly a rebuilding phase for a proud rugby nation.

Without the pressure of ranking points, Ireland's XV may be liberated to put some of their more attacking systems into practice as they look to rediscover their pre-World Cup form.

Otherwise, a poor display in this match will only pile the pressure on Kidney and his players, who must now stand up strong and be counted in the absence of leading lights such as Brian O'Driscoll, Rob Kearney, Paul O'Connell, Stephen Ferris, Sean O'Brien and Rory Best.

Related articles

• National Sport: Ferris adds to Ireland injury woes
• Puma's World Cup Test for Kidney
• Captain Heaslip Leads Ireland v Boks
• Kidney's New Kids on the Block
• Ireland Lose O'Connell for Autumn
• Sports Digest - Rugby series starts on a losing not after Ireland's collapse against South Africa

Gavin Duffy Gets All Black SOS

Connacht's Gavin Duffy will team up with the Ireland squad in New Zealand after Keith Earls was ruled out of the second Test.

Earls sustained a pectoral muscle injury in the closing stages of the 42-10 defeat in the series opener against the All Blacks and has been told he will play no part in Saturday's rematch.

Earls will remain with the squad, though, and will be monitored ahead of the third Test.

Ireland team manager Mick Kearney said: "Gavin will arrive in Christchurch on Tuesday and we'll meet up with him when we arrive on Wednesday.

"He was under consideration and he was on the stand-by list but we felt that Keith has played a fair bit of rugby at full-back so we were adequately covered there.

"Keith has a tear of one of his pectoral muscles. It showed up during an MRI scan yesterday. He is unavailable for the game at the weekend and his progress will be monitored over the coming days."

Ireland also have two walking wounded in their front row, with Cian Healy and Declan Fitzpatrick also suffering injuries at Eden Park.

Healy is a major doubt for the next match, with Fitzpatrick in better shape.

"Cian took a blow to his right shoulder and he has a significant soft tissue injury there," said Kearney.

"He will be modified training this week with a view to having him right for Saturday. At the moment I would say his chances are 50/50.

"Declan Fitzpatrick has a contusion to his gluteal muscle. The hamstring is okay. He is a concern but the outlook is pretty good for the weekend

No Second Test for Keith Earls

Ireland utility back Keith Earls has been ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch with a pectoral muscle injury.

Earls, who suffered the injury in the later stages of the 42-10 defeat in Auckland, will be monitored by medical staff before the third Test.

Props Cian Healy and Declan Fitzpatrick may still play in the second Test despite also sustaining injuries.

Healy's shoulder injury is not as bad as first thought.

Healy had to be replaced in the second half of Ireland's 42-10 loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday and coach Declan Kidney had said afterwardsb that the injury was a concern.

The 24-year-old has improved over the last 24 hours however and will be monitored during the week, along with tighthead prop Fitzpatrick.

The debutant's injury, initially thought to be a hamstring strain, turned out to be a gluteal muscle strain.

Neither of the front rowers has been ruled out of contention for selection for the second test in Christchurch on June 16, the team said.

The visitors could have faced a crisis in their front row this week with regular tighthead Mike Ross still suffering the effects of a hamstring injury that kept him out of the first test.

Ireland Inflict More Scotland Pain

Ireland inflicted a fourth successive RBS Six Nations defeat on Scotland after prevailing 32-14 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening.

The hosts crossed four times in total and overcame the absence of key duo Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell to claim a hard-fought win.

Stand-in captain Rory Best started the ball rolling with a well-worked try before Eoin Reddan and Andrew Trimble struck in between a fine solo effort from Scotland back-rower Richie White.

Replacement Fergus McFadden added extra authority to the scoreline late on after Max Evans had been sin-binned for a cynical trip, and Scotland must now turn their attention to a wooden spoon decider against Italy next weekend.

Scotland were dealt a blow just before kick-off when Nick De Luca was ruled out with a hamstring injury. His absence paved the way for Evans to return at outside centre.

Visiting fly-half Greig Laidlaw took advantage of early indiscipline from Ireland, firing over two penalties inside the opening 10 minutes to put Scotland 6-0 in front.

But the response from the hosts was clinical, hooker Best crashing over following a well-worked line-out routine. Jonathan Sexton expertly added the extras from the touchline.

The Leinster No.10 was on target again just before the half hour, his penalty putting Ireland 10-6 ahead after Allan Jacobsen had been punished in the scrum.

Scotland deservedly cut the deficit when Laidlaw made it three from three on 32 minutes, but the Scots were the architects of their own downfall just 90 seconds later when Reddan squirmed past a host of would-be tacklers to score. Sexton converted.

Scotland were rewarded for their attacking persistence three minutes before the interval when Gray scored his first try in 20 Tests, brushing past Reddan and Tommy Bowe before fooling Rob Keaney with a dummy.

But there was to be yet more drama before the break when winger Trimble stepped inside Lee Jones to score in the corner. Sexton failed to add the extras, meaning Ireland went into the break 22-14 ahead.

Graeme Morrison brilliantly denied Bowe what would surely have been a killer score in the early stages of the second half, with the Scotland centre holding up the Ospreys man on the try-line.

And so after a flurry of points in the first half, chances suddenly became few and far between in the second as Ireland comfortably preserved their lead.

They had to wait until the 72nd minute before extending it, Sexton taking his tally for the evening to 10 points with a penalty which put Ireland 11 clear.

Evans' trip denied Keith Earls what would have been a fine individual try just a minute later and the resulting yellow card meant Scotland were forced to play the remaining exchanges with 14 men.

The numerical advantage proved pivotal and, after a forceful scrum, substitute McFadden was able to dive over from close range for his third Test try. Sexton capped an impressive performance with the extras.

Reddan Ready for Scotland Chance

Ireland scrum-half Eoin Reddan is eager to take his chance against Scotland in Saturday's Six Nations match in Dublin.

Reddan has been restored to the Irish starting XV after a knee injury sustained against France ended Conor Murray's championship.

"At this stage of my career I've learnt that coaches are entitled to their opinion," said Reddan.

"You need to focus on your form, concentrate on what you do well and keep bringing it."

The 31-year-old's strong cameos off the bench against Wales and Italy led to calls for him to start at the Stade de France, but fate has intervened to give him his chance this weekend.

Unable to fully establish himself as Ireland's first choice number nine since making his debut in 2006, he has devised his own approach to selection.

"If you get frustrated or bothered by it, it pushes you further away from getting into the team," he said.

“We're very aware of the IRB ranking system and the need to be ranked as high as possible for the next World Cup”Declan KidneyIreland coach

"If you manage to keep your form, it gives them a chance to realise they were wrong.

"That's the only hope you have because if you let your form dip, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Meanwhile Ireland coach Declan Kidney has reminded his players that, while the Six Nations title is unobtainable, the clash with Scotland remains of critical importance.

The seedings for the 2015 World Cup pool stages will be determined by the International Rugby Board world rankings at the end of the year and Ireland have eight matches to ensure they finish inside the top eight and thus avoid the nightmare scenario of being drawn in a group alongside two major nations.

Among those games are a three-Test series in New Zealand - they have never beaten the All Blacks home or away - England at Twickenham and South Africa at the Aviva Stadium in November.

"The championship is out of reach, but there is a huge amount at stake at the end of November," said Kidney.

"We're very aware of the IRB ranking system and the need to be ranked as high as possible for the next World Cup.

"The ranking system probably only becomes important once every four years in terms of getting something from it, so we're conscious of that.

"I pointed out to the players that given the age profile of our side, 80-90% of them will be hoping to be around for the next World Cup.

"This is their foundation, so they must understand it and don't be saying afterwards they didn't realise.

"It won't make us win the match against Scotland, but it's something to have in the back of the mind."

Regardless of whether a Six Nations title or ranking points are at stake, Kidney insists pride alone should be sufficient to inspire his side.

"The Six Nations is different to other competitions, it's like playing in five cup finals," he said.

"Each game is a cup final in its own right and each day you pull on the green jersey is a huge day."

Kidney Not Focused on History

Declan Kidney says his Ireland team must concentrate on their own display in Sunday's Six Nations clash in Paris and not be intimidated by their dismal record in the French capital.

The Irish have had a terrible run of results in Paris, with a 27-25 victory in 2000 their only win since 1972.

"Sometimes we think that we have to do something different when we don't," said the Ireland coach.

"If we play our own game, it's more than possible to get a result."

Kidney added: "Instead of trying to pull something special out of the bag, we need to concentrate and believe in ourselves.

"If we believe in ourselves we can get a good result."

The Irish face Philippe Saint-Andre's unbeaten side after their original Six Nations showdown, scheduled for 11 February, was postponed shortly before kick-off because of a frozen pitch.

Of Ireland's 22 selected for Sunday's game, only substitute fly-half Ronan O'Gara was involved in the victory in Paris 12 years ago.

Captain Paul O'Connell has felt the pain of past defeats as much as anyone following five unsuccessful visits to the French capital but he refuses to dwell on the record.

"It's a box I'd love to tick. It is a really hard place to come and win," the Munster and Lions lock said.

"France in Paris are a different creature really, an incredibly tough side.

"They seem to save their best rugby for here, particularly their best counter-attacking rugby.

"We've spoken about how in the past certain things have hurt us over here.

"Apart from that there hasn't been a whole lot mentioned of the record. I don't think we're too held down by the baggage."

O'Connell believes that the Irish players must produce the kind of resolve they displayed in beating Australia at last year's World Cup.

"We may not have done it internationally against France in Paris yet, but we're well used to going away from home and winning.

"You look at one or two of our performances in the World Cup last autumn, certainly against Australia.

"It was a good performance and a good barometer for us to have."

O'Connell highlighted the importance of producing a strong start with Ireland having made a habit of handing France unassailable leads in recent years.

"We just need to make sure we do the simple things well and don't do what Ireland teams have done in the past and give France a leg-up.

"That is what teams do here. They kill you from turnovers, they kill you from counter-attacks."

France Lose Maxime Medard

France full-back Maxime Medard has been ruled out of Sunday's Six Nations clash against Ireland because of injury.

Medard sustained a knee injury in Sunday's 23-17 win over Scotland so his Toulouse team-mate Clement Poitrenaud has been drafted into the French squad.

Poitrenaud won the last of his 44 caps in last year's Six Nations defeat by England at Twickenham.

The remainder of the squad is unchanged for the Ireland match, which was originally scheduled for 11 February.

Medard scored a try in the Murrayfield game before being forced to hobble off.

Coach Philippe Saint-Andre will announce his starting line-up on Wednesday but Poitrenaud looks likely to slot in at full-back.

"We don't have a lot of full-backs in the squad. We chose Clement Poitrenaud even though we had one or two other options," said Saint-Andre on Monday.

"We will leave naming the team until Wednesday instead of Tuesday to see how the players recover from their efforts (against Scotland).

"We also want to take another look at our next opponents as Ireland have also played another game having defeated Italy (on Saturday)."

France squad

Forwards: David Attoub, Vincent Debaty, Nicolas Mas, Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Dimitri Szarzewski, Pascal Pape, Yoann Maestri, Lionel Nallet, Julien Bonnaire, Thierry Dusautoir (captain), Louis Picamoles, Imanol Harinordoquy

Backs: Morgan Parra, Julien Dupuy, François Trinh-Duc, Lionel Beauxis, Aurelien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Wesley Fofana, Vincent Clerc, Julien Malzieu, Clément Poitrenaud

Ireland Keen for Italian Action

Nineteen long days with no opportunity to put that dramatic late defeat by Wales behind them, an infuriating competitive drought described as "far from ideal" by captain Paul O'Connell, and now the flood cometh: four matches in 22 days.

Ireland's Six Nations campaign is just one Test old but, after their first opening loss in eight seasons and the late postponement in frozen Paris, already it looks set to test the depth of resources and mental power within Declan Kidney's squad more than he will have expected at the outset.

And all this without injured talisman Brian O'Driscoll, the first Six Nations he's missed in more than a decade.

But the manager - who has retained the same XV for the France game after mulling changes - will hope that kicking their heels in frustration will see his players explode out of the traps like caged lions against Italy, against whom they have won all of their 12 Six Nations fixtures.

Predictably, Ireland are clear favourites to beat the perennial Wooden Spoon contenders, but the pressure is still on. Not only have Ireland never lost their two opening Six Nations games (the last time they suffered that ignominy was in the old days of the Five Nations, in 1998), they have not lost back-to-back Six Nations Tests since 2005 - and have not lost four on the bounce in Dublin since 1997.

Italy should provide a different set of challenges, although with their physical attributes - especially in the ruck, maul and scrum areas - rarely in question, they are looking to make their game more expansive.

Much is expected of Tobias Botes at fly-half. He replaces Kris Burton, who, with better kicking, would have secured a famous victory against England. Though France saw them off relatively easily on the opening weekend, the Azzurri, increasingly less predictable, should have beaten Stuart Lancaster's team - and will be fired up to make amends.

Ireland : 15-Kearney, 14-Bowe, 13-Earls, 12-D'Arcy, 11-Trimble, 10-Sexton, 9-Murray; 1-Healy, 2-Best, 3-Ross, 4-O'Callaghan, 5-O'Connell (c), 6-Ferris, 7-O'Brien, 8-Heaslip.

Replacements: 16-Cronin, 17-Court, 18-Ryan, 19-O'Mahony, 20-Reddan, 21-O'Gara, 22-McFadden.

Italy : 15-Masi, 14-Venditti, 13-Benvenuti, 12-Sgarbi, 11-McLean, 10-Botes, 9-Gori; 1-Rizzo, 2-Ghiraldini, 3-Cittadini, 4-Geldenhuys, 5-Bortolami, 6-Zanni, 7-Barbieri, 8-Parisse (c).

Replacements: 16-D'Apice, 17-Staibano, 18-Pavanello, 19-Favaro, 20-Semenzato, 21-Burton, 22-Canale.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee : Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Touch judges : Nigel Owens (Wales), David Changleng (Scotland)

TV : Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)

Ferris Looking for Aviva Fortress

Stephen Ferris says Ireland must begin the process of turning the Aviva Stadium into a fortress by clinically dispatching Italy in Saturday's Six Nations clash in Dublin.

Ireland have lost six out of nine games at the rebuilt Lansdowne Road since returning to the south Dublin venue.

"New Zealand are the only team who have really beaten us. In the rest of the games we probably beat ourselves," said the 26-year-old.

"We've let teams off the hook."

Ferris added: "We need to be a bit smarter and when we do have our foot on opponents' throats, we should keep it there.

"We need to be a bit more clinical and grind it out when we need to.

"We had the opportunity to do that against Wales three weeks ago .

"We wouldn't be talking about this if we had beaten Wales."

Ferris identifies the impressive home record of his province Ulster, who have not been toppled at Ravenhill since early October, as an example of the attitude that should be adopted.

"With Ulster we drive up to Ravenhill on a Friday night knowing we're going to win," he said.

"We also need to be driving on the bus to the Aviva knowing that we're going to win.

"That's the feeling you have to get at your home stadium and it comes with results, big victories and strong performances. We should start that this weekend."

The clash with Italy begins a schedule of four matches in 22 games, forced by the weather-postponed game against France .

It means Ireland will have waited three weeks for the opportunity to atone for the 23-21 loss to Wales that opened their Six Nations campaign in such disappointing fashion.

"Everybody's itching to play a game of rugby," Ferris said.

"A few lads had a run out for their provinces last weekend but most of us haven't played for a while.

"There's no doubt four successive Test matches will be very physically demanding, but we're used to it.

"We did it at the World Cup and we play week in week out for the provinces.

"Speaking with all the players after the France game was postponed, it was never an issue for anyone."

Ireland met Italy twice last year, winning on both occasions in games of contrasting difficulty.

In Rome the Irish needed a late Ronan O'Gara drop-goal to escape with 13-11 victory, while at the World Cup they emerged impressive 36-6 winners.

"Italy have played well so far in this Six Nations and have been unlucky not to get a result in their two games," added Ferris.

"It will be a tough day at the office, we know that. It's very important that we win and get things rolling again."

McFadden Fills in for Earls

There has been a change to the Ireland team to play Wales this weekend in the RBS 6 Nations Championship. 

Fergus McFadden has moved into the outside centre position in place of Keith Earls who has been ruled out due to personal reasons. 

McFadden moves into the starting XV from the replacements and his spot is taken by the uncapped David Kearney, who played last weekend for the O2 Ireland Wolfhounds team.

Speaking at a press conference at the Aviva Stadium today, Ireland Team Manager Michael Kearney explained: "There has been one late change to the Irish team, Fergus McFadden has come in as a replacement for Keith Earls, who has been ruled out due to personal reasons. Unfortunately Keith's baby daughter has been taken ill and is in hospital as we speak. The nature of the illness is unclear, however I did speak to Keith this morning and he was hopeful and optimistic that the baby would get home sometime over the weekend.

"The decision was taken following a conversation with Declan (Kidney) and Keith yesterday and it was thought that it was in the best interests of Keith and his partner and their families that Keith remains in Limerick for the weekend. Fergus comes in, instead of Keith, and David Kearney has taken Fergus' place on the replacements bench."

Sunday's match will represent McFadden's third start in the RBS 6 Nations, following two caps on the right wing against Italy and France last season. 

The 22-year-old Kearney joins his older brother Rob and fellow uncapped player Peter O'Mahony in the match day 22.

IRELAND Team & Replacements (v Wales, RBS 6 Nations Championship 2012, Aviva Stadium, Sunday, February 5th, kick-off 3pm):

15 - Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)

14 - Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)

13 - Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

12 - Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)

11 - Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)

10 - Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster)

9 - Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)

1 - Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)

2 - Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)

3 - Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)

4 - Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)

5 - Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster) Captain

6 - Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)

7 - Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)

8 - Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 - Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)

17 - Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)

18 - Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)

19 - Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)*

20 - Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)

21 - Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)

22 - David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)*