Preview: Opportunity knocks to impress against Italy

Warm-up games, Tests, friendlies. Call them what you like.

For every team, this block of three or four games before the World Cup is a tricky one to get your head around. For some players it's about getting a bit of rugby into the legs ahead of the big one next month, and getting to the other side in one piece.

Andy Farrell has often spoken of the excitement in embracing the challenges the game can throw his way, avoiding an injury like the one that befell Joey Carbery in 2019 will be high on his list of priorities.

For others, it’s the biggest run of games of their lives. It’s a chance to plant a flag in the mind of the coach, a final chance to get into a 33-man World Cup squad, or even a first chance to play Test rugby.

Look around the Ireland team to play Italy in the opening game of the Bank of Ireland Nations Series this evening (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player) and you’ll a see a real mixture of experience and motivations.

An average haul of 31 caps in the starting XV points to a settled, experienced selection, but it only tells part of the story.

On the wings, Keith Earls and Jacob Stockdale are given their chances to impress after long waits. Earls comes in to win his 99th cap, one year on from his last appearance for Ireland against the All Blacks last summer. The Munster veteran is expected to retire after the World Cup, and while he’s been a favourite of Farrell when fit, the performances of James Lowe and Mack Hansen in recent months, and the versatility Jimmy O’Brien means he’s under pressure to make it to his fourth World Cup.

It’s been an even longer wait for Stockdale who gets his first shot in an Ireland jersey since the summer of 2021. The 27-year-old spent last season rebuilding his career after enduring pretty