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Preview: Ireland v Italy

In excellent form: Andrew Trimble

Now comes the tricky bit. After waiting 61 years to claim only their second Grand Slam, Ireland must now prove it was no fluke.

Finally that missing piece of the green jigsaw was found last season when - having only been in the job for just under twelve months - Declan Kidney orchestrated the clean sweep which was finished off on Welsh turf.

It was by no means a mind-blowing 400 minutes from them however, and four less than ten-point wins made their triumph have a large sense of relief attached to it rather than outright delight. But a Slam is a Slam and Ireland have moved on confident and hungry for more silverware.

So what else brought about their turnaround? It is apparent nowadays that there's more depth in almost every on-field position, something that was lacking over the past decade. The likes of Leo Cullen, Kevin McLaughlin, Eoin Reddan, Jonathan Sexton, Paddy Wallace, Shane Horgan and others have allowed Kidney a 'Plan B' and/or to rotate players in order to keep them fresh. He also has the versatile Luke Fitzgerald on his way back but on the flip side it will be a while yet for Denis Leamy.

Yet all that depth has meant tough decisions for the softly-spoken Kidney, who has opted for Gordon D'Arcy ahead of the savvier Wallace. That choice should benefit the champions against the Azzurri however and his centre combination with Leinster team-mate Brian O'Driscoll is set to be one vital outlet.

The back-three is also arguably the strongest in this year's competition and with the aforementioned Horgan, Fitzgerald and Keith Earls set to press for more chances, Ireland may just keep on winning.

One matter that is a slight worry for the champions is their mini-gamble on the fitness of hooking duo Jerry Flannery and Rory Best. You can count on one hand, seriously, how many full games these two have played over the course of 2009/10 so there's no doubt that the Italian pack will target both the line-out and scrum.

Speaking of the visitors, they enter a new decade under the somewhat alien feeling of having a victory behind them following success against Samoa. Their matchday 22 is the same squad that found late form in November - a result which ended a dismal thirteen-match winless run. However, Nick Mallett heads into this one desperate to improve after wooden-spoon performances in 2008 and 2009.

Can they do it on day one? Well, the loss of Sergio Parisse is expected to hit them hard due to a number of factors that include his ball-carrying ability, defence and fine leadership. His absence will be filled by hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini and Alessandro Zanni, who take on the captaincy and number eight role respectively. So unsurprisingly it is up front that they will be looking to halt the champions.

But that stance will not be enough on Saturday as this is an Ireland team that proved back in November that those nightmare 80 minutes against Georgia and Argentina, which ended their World Cup in 2007, are in no danger of resurfacing. They will want a strong start in Dublin and from there it will be all Paris, Paris, Paris.

Ones to watch:

For Ireland: The champions have something of an embarrassment of riches on the wing right now with Shane Horgan and Keith Earls unfortunate to miss out while Luke Fitzgerald nurses his way back. Kidney's choices though have been in scintillating form of late - if you caught Andrew Trimble's score away to Bath then enough said. In the number fourteen jersey, the in-form finisher Tommy Bowe will cause all five rivals problems. Rob Kearney isn't too bad either.

For Italy: While we don't want to bang on it, there's no way that Italy will not be pining for the ball skills and leadership of captain Sergio Parisse. His place at number eight is taken by the experienced Alessandro Zanni and his combination with scrum-half Tito Tebaldi is vital to the visitors slowing down the pace of the game on Saturday. Do that and Ireland could become frustrated...I repeat, could.

Head-to-head: Where else would we focus on with Italy? That grizzly front-row threesome of Martin Castrogiovanni, Leonardo Ghiraldini and Salvatore Perugini is by no means set to struggle against the likes of John Hayes and Cian Healy, who is fired up for his clash with the Tigers' tighthead. Add to that the fact that Jerry Flannery may not be up to full speed at scrum time and there should be fireworks.

Previous results:

2009: Ireland won 38-9 at Stadio Flaminio
2008: Ireland won 16-11 at Croke Park
2007: Ireland won 23-20 at Ravenhill
2007: Ireland won 51-24 at Stadio Flaminio
2006: Ireland won 26-16 at Lansdowne Road
2005: Ireland won 28-17 at Stadio Flaminio
2004: Ireland won 19-3 at Lansdowne Road
2003: Ireland won 61-6 at Thomond Park
2003: Ireland won 37-13 at Stadio Flaminio
2002: Ireland won 32-17 at Lansdowne Road

Prediction: While Italy will give it the kitchen sink at Croke Park, the champions are just too strong and confident right now. Ireland by 15!

The teams:

Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donncha Ryan, 19 Sean O'Brien, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Keith Earls.

Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (capt), 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Simon Picone, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Andrea Masi.

Date: Saturday, February 6
Kick-off: 14:30
Venue: Croke Park
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), Jérôme Graces (France)
Television match official: Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor: Clayton Thomas (Wales)

By Adam Kyriacou