Don't expect wholesale squad rotation for Italian job

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. It would be easy to give Craig Casey a start and justify it through the developmental lens, however, Casey has been afforded more minutes than expected as a result of Gibson-Parks' injury so the pressure is off there; he will feature but I don’t expect it to be in a starting role. If you’re giving Ross Byrne a fair chance at establishing himself as Johnny Sexton’s back-up, then less changes are crucial to continue the squad dynamic.

Joey Carbery has returned to Irish camp with Sexton’s rehab ongoing. I would expect Farrell to stick to his guns and play Jack Crowley from the bench.

Ronan Kelleher and Bundee Aki are two changes that Farrell can make to share some game time without disrupting the strength of his starting team. Both have occupied starting positions in the past. Farrell has clearly stated that it doesn’t matter who wears the