Ireland are back in action in the Six Nations this weekend, travelling to Rome to take on the dangerously attacking Italians.Italy are playing a really attractive attacking brand of rugby.
They look cohesive with their forward pods and the backs are zipping around in behind to cause trouble, Ange Capuozzo in particular.Their French scare is proof enough that we won't be seeing wholesale squad rotation and development from Andy Farrell, whose side are still fully focused on finishing this competition with a Grand Slam.
They’ll have to get past the Italian set piece if they are going to take the next step on this journey.Farrell isn’t one for wholesale changes anyway.
He usually gives a player a fair crack within the starting team, with few changes disrupting his assessment of their performance when given a chance.As a result, I expect him to continue with Conor Murray to partner Ross Byrne.