Italy vs. Ireland live score, updates, highlights as 2023 Six Nations round 3 gets underway
The 2023 Six Nations championship resumes with current leaders Ireland facing Italy in Rome. Two wins from two has Ireland sitting pretty at the top of the table, while Italy are second bottom with two consecutive defeats despite good performances in both games.
The world’s number one side stamped their authority on the tournament by thumping France 32-19 in Dublin. The scoreline may have been close, but Ireland scoring four tries to France’s one, and limiting Les Bleus to just three second-half points, showed just how dominant Andy Farrell’s men were as they rocketed to the top of the table.
While Italy’s games have largely been in the balance, the way Ireland have started this tournament shows that they’re the team to beat so far. Their five-try victory over France followed a four-try thrashing of Wales a week prior in Cardiff.
Following this up with an equally impressive win over the current Grand Slam holders shows just how difficult it’s going to be to stop Ireland in 2023, and having lost 57-6 to them in 2022, the Azzurri know it’s going to take a titanic defensive effort to keep the frontrunners at bay for long.
The Sporting News is following the match live, providing live updates and commentary below.
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Italy vs. Ireland live score
| 1H | 2H | FT | |
| Italy | 10 | – | – |
| Ireland | 19 | – | – |
Tries: Varney; Ryan, Keenan, Aki, Hansen
Conversions: Garbisi; Bryne (2)
Penalties: Garbisi
Italy vs. Ireland live commentary, highlights
36 mins: TRY – Italy 10-24 Ireland!! That’s the bonus point before half-time!! Ireland’s forwards draw the Italian defence in-field, before Casey bullets a pass wide to McCloskey. His immediate offload puts Hansen over in the corner, and Andy Farrell’s side extend their lead further! Byrne can’t add the extras, with the Irish lead extended to 14.
35 mins: Ireland keep pressing forward and Van der Flier is stopped short of the posts. They gain penalty advantage looking for their fourth try, and after Byrne’s cut-out pass is intercepted by Bruno, play comes back for the penalty.
33 mins: A after Lamaro concedes an offside penalty, Ireland march up the field and go close with a set line-out move. They look to work the ball back to the right and McCloskey is almost able to burst through, but play is stopped due to an injury to Bealham inside the Italian 22.
30 mins: Casey is receiving treatment having looked fairly groggy since a collision with Niccolo Cannone, but both the referee and TMO see that the Italy second-row can’t get out of the way, but still give a Ireland penalty!
28 mins: After a period of pressure from Ireland, Italy look to work the ball into space down the right, but Varney takes too long at the back of the ruck and Casey steals in to pinch possession!
24 mins: Almost straight from kick-off, Casey passes back to Lowe for him to clear, but the winger drops the ball on his own line to gift Italy a scrum in a good attacking position!
22 mins: TRY – Italy 10-19 Ireland!!! The visitors generate extremely quick ball and Van der Flier dummies before offloading wide to Lowe. He has Aki in support, and the New Zealand-born centre fends off Capuozzo to dot down in the corner! A third Ireland try, and it’s converted by Byrne from the sideline to open up a nine-point lead.
20 mins: Negri makes a break out of his own 22 and Italy look to recycle the ball quickly, but Lowe wraps up Garbisi as he attempts a wide pass to the right, and turns the ball over.
18 mins: PENALTY – Italy 10-12 Ireland. Garbisi steps up looking to close the gap, and adds three more points off the tee to reduce Ireland’s lead to two.
Hugo Keenan scores Ireland’s second try after some hard running from Bundee Aki (UK):
17 mins: Capuozzo floats the ball over the top to Menoncello, who races down the left and kicks over the top. He chases hard as Bryce collects the ball, and wins the penalty after the Ireland fly-half holds onto the ball in the ruck!
14 mins: TRY – Italy 7-12 Ireland!! The visitors are over for their second try!!! Aki hits a fantastic line to smash over the gainline and break, with Keenan in support. He steps in and out of two tacklers before wriggling away from a third to score under the sticks! Byrne kicks his first points of the day from the conversion, and the visitors re-take the lead.
12 mins: An inaccurate throw from Negri at an Italian line-out puts Varney under all sorts of pressure, and the scrum-half is smashed as he attempts a clearing kick, which is charged down by Ireland and bounces out of play.
Watch: Italy respond after Stephen Varney finishes off Lorenzo Cannone’s line-break (UK)
10 mins: Italy are flying forward at the moment and Lorenzo Cannone sets off on another gallop! He’s chopped down short once again, but Italy have Ireland on the ropes here!
8 mins: TRY – Italy 7-5 Ireland!!! Italy return serve with a score of their own!! Moving the ball quickly, Lorenzo Cannone smashes through contact. down the right side and is brought down inches short of the line. Varney wants quick ball, gets it, and darts over from dummy-half to level the scores! Garbisi’s kick is good, and the hosts lead by two points!!!
6 mins: The game’s first scrum goes down and Italy take the quick tap immediately. It’s shipped wide by Brex to Bruno, who beats his man before offloading inside to Menoncello, who can’t keep hold of the ball!
4 mins: TRY – Italy 0-5 Ireland! They don’t survive for long!!! Italy’s clearing kick from the drop out is returned with feeling by Ireland, and Aki busts between two defenders before offloading. Lowe takes the ball and charges down the flank, before passing inside for his captain James Ryan to score inside four minutes!!! Byrne pulls the conversion wide, but it’s the perfect start for the world number ones!
2 mins: NO TRY!!! The TMO review shows that while Lowe stays in the field of play, there’s some separation between hand and ball as it hits the grass, and so Italy survive!
2 mins: Ireland think they’ve scored!!! Van der Flier dummies and charges into the back-field. Entering the 22, he finds Keenan to his outside, who puts Lowe away in the corner. Capuozzo dives across in cover, but Lowe reckons he got that ball down!!! We’re going upstairs for a second look…
Kick-Off: Ross Byrne gets the game underway, as he kicks off for Ireland in Rome!
5 mins from kick-off: The teams head out onto the pitch, and after a minute’s silence to mark a year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the national anthems get underway.
10 mins from kick-off: The Stadio Olimpico has filled up nicely as we await the teams coming out, and the two captains in particular will be worth keeping an eye on. Italy skipper Michele Lamaro was forced off early against England, while James Ryan leads the Ireland side with regular captain Johnny Sexton rested.
15 mins from kick-off: Italy have also made changes to their starting side, none more significant than the re-introduction of Paolo Garbisi to the number 10 shirt. The dynamic young fly-half missed the first two games through injury, but is straight back into the XV and will be hoping to provide some cutting edge to Italy’s expansive attack.
30 mins from kick-off: Andy Farrell has been forced into making a late change to his starting XV, as Garry Ringrose is injured to deny the centre his 50th cap. Stuart McCloskey slots in to create a seismic midfield partnership with fellow battering ram Bundee Aki, and Jimmy O’Brien comes onto the bench.
45 mins from kick-off: France were very lucky to get past Italy in Rome on the first weekend of the tournament, with Matthieu Jalibert’s late try sealing a 29-24 victory. Indiscipline from Les blues saw the Azzurri claw back a three-try deficit to take the lead in the second half, and their second-half performance the week after at Twickenham also gave England a scare.
60 mins from kick-off: Ireland’s statement 32-19 victory over France was a warning sign for the rest of the teams Andy Farrell’s men are yet to play. Outclassing the reigning, Grand Slam-winning champions in every single department is no mean feat, not least with France on a 11-game winning streak in their previous matches.
75 mins from kick-off: The two teams come into this game with polar opposites in the form column; hosts Italy have lost both their games despite positive performances, while Ireland have left no stone unturned so far, on their way to two bonus-point wins.
90 mins from kick-off: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of today’s Six Nations clash between two sides who are certainly on the up at the moment. One thing’s for sure though, Italy will need something special if they are to overcome the world’s number one side. Let’s get going!
✈️ Round 3 incoming! #TeamOfUs | #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/0VRjtQIqla
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 23, 2023
Italy vs Ireland confirmed lineups
The big inclusion for Italy is the return of their maverick fly-half Paolo Garbisi. The 22-year-old Montpellier playmaker missed the Azzurri’s first two games due to injury, but is back in the starting XV for this game to direct his side around the park against the world’s best side. Outside him is Tommaso Menoncello, who moves in from the wing to inside centre. His decisive drive through the middle of staggered English defence laid on Alessandro Fusco‘s second-half score at Twickenham, and coach Kieran Crowley no doubt thinks he could have a similar effect in this game.
Kieran Crowley said he needed a plan B after defeat at Twickenham.
In the form of Paolo Garbisi, he has it.@Federugby | #GuinnessSixNations
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 22, 2023
Italy’s forwards were bullied outright for the first 40 minutes against England, but gave some of their own back in the second half, sparked by prop Marco Riccioni’s early try. Riccioni drops to the bench for this one though, replaced in the XV by Simone Ferrari, who was sin-binned not long after coming on at Twickenham! In the back row, Sebastian Negri will be looking to build on his dynamic 74-minute performance against England, while Michele Lamaro and Lorenzo Cannone, injured and sin-binned respectively in that game, will be out for a dose of redemption in Rome.
Italy Starting XV: Ange Capuozzo, Edoardo Padovani, Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Pierre Bruno, Paolo Garbisi, Stephen Varney; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari, Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro, Lorenzo Cannone.
Italy Replacements: Luca Bigi, Federico Zani, Marco Riccioni, Edoardo Iachizzi, Giovanni Pettinelli, Alessandro Fusco, Luca Morisi, Tommaso Allan.
🔵 #Italrugby
Il Capo Allenatore Kieran #Crowley ha annunciato la formazione del 3° match del Guinness Six Nations 2023 ➡ https://t.co/aCUUQhnjtn
🇮🇹☘ #ITAvIRE
📍 Stadio Olimpico, Roma
🏉 Sabato 25/2, kick off ore 15.15
🎟 @TicketOne
📺 @SkySport 1 ▪ @NOW▪ @TV8it pic.twitter.com/XNs30DaMrD— Italrugby (@Federugby) February 23, 2023
Having maintained an almost entirely unchanged matchday 23 in their two victories so far, Ireland do make some alterations this time around. Most notably, the halves are shaken up, with captain Johnny Sexton rested and scrum-half Conor Murray on the bench. Craig Casey and Ross Byrne wear jerseys nine and 10 respectively in their places, as Andy Farrell tests his depth in two of the most important positions on the field.
In Sexton’s absence, lock James Ryan will lead the side out at the Stadio Olimpico, and is joined in the second row by Iain Henderson after Tadhg Beirne was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament through injury. Caelan Doris switches from the back of the scrum to blindside flank, displacing Peter O’Mahony, who takes the vacated bench spot of starting number eight Jack Conan.
Ireland Starting XV: Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Bundee Aki, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe, Ross Byrne, Craig Casey; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham, Iain Henderson, James Ryan, Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Ireland Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Dave Kilcoyne, Tom O’Toole, Ryan Baird, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Jimmy O’Brien.
📋 The @IrishRugby 23 heading to Rome ☘️#ITAvIRE | #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/1MDNJx7R1N
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 23, 2023
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Italy vs Ireland live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the major territories:
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | fuboTV, Peacock, CNBC |
| Canada | — |
DAZN |
| UK | BBC One | BBC iPlayer |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| New Zealand | — | Sky Sport NOW |
| India | — | Premier Sports Asia |
| Hong Kong | — | Premier Sports Asia |
| Malaysia | — | Premier Sports Asia |
| Singapore | — | Premier Sports Asia |
USA: All games are streaming live on Peacock and will also be available through fuboTV. However, they will also be repeated on CNBC on delay, usually by a couple of hours.
Canada: All games are streaming live on DAZN.
UK: Matches will be shown on BBC and ITV, with S4C also broadcasting in Wales. BBC has the rights to this game.
Australia: Six Nations coverage is provided by Stan Sport.
India: Premier Sports Asia is the main place to watch the Six Nations.
MORE: Ireland prove world-leading status is no fluke with convincing France victory.
Italy vs Ireland odds
As expected when facing the world’s number one side who are bang in form, Ireland are fancied by many of the bookmakers to taste victory in this game. The shortest odds for a home win come via Ladbrokes’ $7.00, with Sky Bet’s 12/1 the longest offer.
Ireland are heavily backed by all of the listed bookmakers, with BetMGM’s odds of 1/50 showing how much confidence they have in a win for Andy Farrell’s side. Sports Interactive’s $1.02 is also an incredibly short offer, with all four suggesting an Ireland win is almost rudimentary.
| UK (Sky Bet) |
USA (BetMGM) |
Canada |
Australia (Neds) | |
| Italy Win | 12/1 | +1000 | 11.00 | 7.00 |
| Draw | 50/1 | +3300 | 30.00 | 41.00 |
| Ireland Win | 1/33 | -5000 | 1.02 | 1.05 |