Italy vs Ireland: how to watch Six Nations rugby on UK TV - live stream, KO time and squad news

Andy Farrell’s side have registered two wins from two Six Nations fixtures so far this tournament and have picked up two bonus points on the way as well. It’s no secret that Ireland are the bookies’ favourite to take home the Grand Slam this year.

Ireland took on Wales in their opener, beating the 2019 Grand Slam winners 34-10 before facing France in the second round of the tournament. The 2022 winners posed a greater threat than the Welsh but Ireland were still able to overcome last year’s champions 32-19, despite heroic defending from Antoine Dupont.

Italy, however, are still winless following their first weekend fight against France and second round match against England. The Azzurri were able to hold France to a narrow win, with only five points separating the two Mediterranean sides but Steve Borthwick found himself able to register his first win with England in the second round as Owen Farrell and his squad won 31-14.

As the two sides prepare for the third round of fixtures, here is all you need to know ahead of Italy vs Ireland...

When is Italy vs Ireland

The two sides will meet on Saturday 25 February 2023 with kick-off scheduled for 2.15pm GMT and they will play at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

How to watch Italy vs Ireland Six Nations fixture

This fixture will be available to watch on ITV with fans being able to live stream the action on ITVX. Viewers can sign up to a free account on ITVX. The coverage will start at 1.25pm ahead of the 2.15pm kick-off.

Highlights will then be available to watch following the final whistle on BBC Sport website.

Italy vs Ireland Head-to-Head

Ireland and Italy have played each other 34 times with Ireland winning 30 of those matches, Italy have won on just four occasions with three of them taking place in Italy. The last time Italy beat Ireland was at the Stadio Olimpico in March 2013, beating the visitors 22-15.

Their last meeting took place in Dublin in 2022 and Ireland beat Italy 57-6.

Squads:

Cian Healy and Dan Sheehan have both been included having come through their individual hamstring rehab programmes while Joey Carbery has been added to the squad to provide additional cover as Johnny Sexton continues his rehab this week.

Italy

Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli, Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Marco Riccioni, Luca Rizzoli, Federico Zani, Luca Bigi, Marco Manfredi, Giacomo Nicotera, Niccolo Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Edoardo Iachizzi, Federico Ruzza, Lorenzo Cannone, Michele Lamaro, Sebastian Negri, Giovanni Pettinelli, Jake Polledri, Manuel Zuliani.

Backs: Alessandro Fusco Alessandro Garbisi, Stephen Varney, Tommaso Allan, Giacomo Da Re, Paolo Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, Enrico Lucchin, Tommaso Menoncello, Luca Morisi, Pierre Bruno. Ange Capuozzo, Matteo Minozzi, Edoardo Padovani.

Ireland

Forwards: Bundee Aki, Ross Byrne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Keith Earls, Jamison Gibson Park, Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan, Jordan Larmour, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Jimmy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Garry Ringrose, Johnny Sexton, Jacob Stockdale.

Backs: Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadgh Beirne, Jack Conan, Gavin Coombes, Caelan Doris, Tadgh Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Joe McCarthy, Peter O’Mahony, Tom O’Toole, Scott Penny, Andrew Porter, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier.