Ireland vs Italy preview: Irish team gear up for first World Cup warm-up game

With just one month until the 2023 Rugby World Cup kicks off in France, Ireland are preparing for the tournament with three warm-up games.

This weekend Ireland take on Italy in the first game with their second warm-up game against England taking place two weeks later.

The final game takes place in France where they face Samoa on August 26th.

The big talking point ahead of the game is the absence of captain Johnny Sexton who was banned for the three warm-up games after picking up a misconduct charge in the Champions Cup final between Leinster and La Rochelle.

It means the likes of Ross Byrne and Jack Crowley will be given a chance to shine before Sexton returns for the opening World Cup game.

For Italy, they lost to Scotland last weekend in their opening game 25-13 and after facing Ireland this weekend they take on Japan the next.

If you are wondering what day, what time and where you can watch the game? That information is down below.

Ireland face Italy at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, August 5th.

The game will be broadcast on RTÉ Two from 7:30pm with kick-off at 8pm.

Charging up for Italy!