Ireland and Italy Preview | History predicts an elementary win for Ireland

Ireland and Italy have been opponents in international Rugby tests since the 31^{st of} December 1988 and they have competed thirty-three since.

With Italy joining the the five nations in 2000 to make up what is now The Six Nations, Ireland and the Azzurri are sure to see each other at least once a year.

Ireland is considered one of the premier teams in the Northern Hemisphere while the Italians would be seen as a second tier team. This sentiment is usually the backdrop of each game the two teams compete in.

This years fixture between Ireland and Italy looks to follow the trends of the previous matches as Andy Farrell’s Ireland looks to set right the misstep’s that were made in Paris. Italy are looking to show a clear line of progression in their squads quality.

Taking a look back at the previous five games in this fixture will give fans an idea of how the game might go on Sunday. Each game has a common outcome as Ireland have consistently outplayed the Italians with there only win in the last 20 years coming in 2013.

At the ground of Irelands famous first win against the All Blacks, Ireland competed against the Italians in 2018 at Soldier field in Chicago. This was a particularly low point for the Azzurri as Ireland were emphatic winners with the score line finishing at 54-7. Ireland had Joe Schmidt as head coach, as his sides regimented play battered the Italians. Jordan Lamour had a hattrick by the end of the day as Ireland scored seven tries which included an effort from Garry Ringrose.

Not much hope from an Italian perspective could be pulled from that affair.

The next time the Irish and the Italians met was the following year in the Six Nations tournament. This fixture turned out to be a lot less straight forward compared to the two teams meeting in Chicago. The Azzurri went down in the game first as Ireland scored the first two tries of the game. The Italians came back with two tries from Padovani and Morisi to put the pressure on the boys in green.

In the second half the Italians tired very quickly allowing Ireland to put the game to bed, a theme that runs through most of these fixtures with the final score 16-26 in Ireland’s favour.

In 2019 the teams played twice with a World cup warm up game to be played. This fixture was relatively low scoring but the Italians never threated to win the game. Ireland ran out 29-10 winners, where neither team showed particular quality but the Irish still managed to beat the Italians off the back of a disappointing display.

The last two times these teams have met has both been each year of the Six Nations in 2020 and 2021. Each fixture shared the same outcome, an Irish victory over the Italians.

These last two games have been some of the least competitive in recent memory, both times the Irish managed to put up more than forty points on their opponents. The Italians did not manage to score more than twenty points in these fixtures showing the gulf on quality the last two seasons.

Italy will look to finally break their duck against Ireland that has lasted since 2013. If history is concerned it will be Ireland who will be victorious on Saturday but its doubtful Andy Farrells side would be one to underestimate their blue opponents.