Italy vs Ireland: Six Nations Betting Tips
Ireland will be aiming to secure their third consecutive Six Nations title when they face Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome for the final round of the 2025 championship on Saturday.
After a strong start with victories over England, Scotland and Wales, Ireland suffered a setback with a defeat to France last weekend, dropping them to third place. However, they can remain in contention for the title with a win in Rome.
Italy, with one win and three losses, are looking to avoid the wooden spoon and will be intent on upsetting the reigning champions on home soil.
Italy v Ireland Betting Tips
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Ireland have made a handful of changes following their loss to France with the headline-grabbing news that Jack Crowley returns at fly-half. There are also recalls for fit-again wingers James Lowe and Mack Hansen, while Garry Ringrose starts at outside centre after missing the France match through suspension.
James Ryan replaces Joe McCarthy in the second row, and Jack Conan — who has scored tries in Ireland's past three games — starts at blindside flanker.
For Italy, Paolo Garbisi retains his place at fly-half despite a difficult outing against England. Matt Gallagher is left out with Tommaso Menoncello shifting from centre to left wing and Ange Capuozzo returns on the right wing, making room for Tommaso Allan to slot in at fullback.
In the pack, captain Michele Lamaro drops to the bench, Manuel Zuliani starting in his place. Lorenzo Cannone replaces Ross Vintcent at No. 8 and there are two changes in the front row, Gianmarco Lucchesi and Simone Ferrari coming in for Giacomo Nicotera and Marco Riccioni, while lock Dino Lamb replaces Niccolo Cannone.
Tip 1 – Handicap - Ireland -20.5 @ 17/20
Ireland will retain the Six Nations crown if they beat Italy with or without a bonus point and both France and England fail to win their matches.
Simon Easterby’s men will be eager to bounce back from their defeat to France and finish the tournament on a positive note. They have dominated this fixture in recent years, winning their last 11 encounters with Italy by an average margin of 32 points.
While the Azzurri have shown improvement under Gonzalo Quesada, they still tend to struggle against the top teams. The gap in depth and defensive quality was evident in both of their heavy defeats to France and England.
They proved they can score points by crossing for three tries in each of those last two defeats, but they can leave themselves wide open to counter attacks and kicks into space.
Ireland have won seven of their last eight away games in the Six Nations and the essential changes made by Easterby to keep things fresh should ensure the visitors secure a comfortable victory over Gonzalo Quesada’s side.
Tip 2 – 2nd Half Handicap - Ireland -12.5 @ 19/20
It is worth mentioning how much Italian rugby has been transformed by Quesada these past two seasons. They held France to a 13-13 draw last year — their first time avoiding defeat to Les Bleus since 2013 — and later defeated Scotland for their first home win in the tournament in 11 years.
And now they can avoid the wooden spoon for a second year in a row, thanks to their second consecutive victory over Wales.
But their defence remains a vulnerable area that a highly-motivated team like Ireland can exploit and their relative lack of depth off the bench may mean the majority of the visitors’ scoring opportunities come late on.
Italy have conceded 25 tries in this season’s championship and nine of those have come after the 60-minute mark.
Ireland have tended to finish faster than they have started with their comeback win against Wales in Cardiff a case in point.
Trailing 18-10 just after half-time, Easterby’s side rallied to record a 27-18 win.
With Ireland likely to adopt an expansive gameplan in a bid to secure the bonus point victory that best serves their ultimate chances, they have good reason to keep pushing for more points in the second half.
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