'We expect to be at our best' - Andy Farrell trusting Ireland depth vs Italy

Andy Farrell expects nothing but the best from his Ireland side in the opening game of their Rugby World Cup warm-up programme, as they welcome Italy to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).

The Ireland head coach has picked a largely second-string XV for Saturday's Bank of Ireland Nations Series game with Jack Crowley handed the keys to the backline at out-half and the likes of Tom O'Toole, Joe McCarthy, Craig Casey, Jacob Stockdale and Jimmy O'Brien given opportunities to impress.

There's a wide range of Test experience in the squad; six of the matchday squad have played more than 50 times for Ireland, while nine of the group have fewer than ten caps.

Farrell's team selections have been largely consistent in recent seasons, with last November's win against Fiji a rare occasion where he's made experimental selections. On that day Ireland were comfortable winners against the Fijians, but the head coach was left frustrated by an overall sloppy performance.

Saturday's opening warm-up game could be a final chance to impress for those looking to make a late break into the final 33-man squad for the World Cup, and Farrell says he expects them to rise to the occasion.

"That's the challenge of being an international player," Farrell (below) said.

"We’ve had six weeks together, which we don’t normally get. We normally get 12 days before a Six Nations or before an autumn [campaign], that probably correlates to about five training sessions. We've six weeks together, albeit we've had a week off here and there.

"We expect to be at our best. It doesn't matter what the combinations are because we've had plenty of time to be able to make sure that we adapt to that.

"I think we're at a stage where we're all gagging for a