Ireland will be looking to keep the pressure on Wales and England by running up a big score when they take on minnows Italy on Sunday the 24th of February.
Reigning champions Ireland will be looking to keep their chances of retaining their title alive when they travel to Italy this coming weekend. The visitors got their campaign back on track by registering a win over Scotland in Round 2. A bonus point victory over minnows Italy this Sunday would go a long way to putting them right back in the hunt.
Italy v Ireland
Sunday 24 February
Stadio Olimpico
To Win (80 Mins)
Italy 12/1
Draw 30/1
Ireland 1/100
Handicap
Italy (+30.5) 9/10
Ireland (-30.5) 9/10
Italy
Try as they might, the Italians just cannot get that monkey off the back. Their win less streak continued into Round 2 of the 2019 Six Nations as they went down 15-26 to the Welsh. While Connor O’Shea’s boys did put in a solid shift against the ‘Dragons, the scoreline still flattered them quite a bit as their opponents were far from clinical on the day.
O’Shea will take a bit of comfort from the fact that his team has managed to notch up 35 points in their opening two games. While that will be heartening for the Italians, the fact that they have conceded 59 points while bagging those 35 points will be rather worrying. A lot of work needs to be put in on the defensive side of their game if the hosts are two avoid a heavy defeat this coming Sunday.
Ireland
The Irish will be looking to the Welsh for a massive favour this weekend as a Welsh victory over the English would keep the reigning champions in with a sniff of retaining their title. Ireland will still have to claim a bonus point from their clash with Italy, but this is more than achievable considering the men from the Emerald Isle registered a 56-19 victory over the Italians last year.
We could well see a slightly weakened Irish side take to the Stadio Olimpico this Sunday. First choice fly-half Johhny Sexton picked up a couple on knocks against Scotland and I doubt he’ll be risked here, especially with his understudy Joey Carberry performing so admirably when he came on against the ‘Scots.
Verdict: Ireland *betting to be added on release
While they probably won’t be at full strength, I can still see the Irish running up a big score against an Italian outfit who are as adept at defending as an elephant would be at ballet.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets
