Six Nations: Jack Crowley starts as Peter O'Mahony moves to bench for Italy clash

Jack Crowley will start at out-half in Rome on Saturday as Ireland bid to finish their Guinness Six Nations campaign on a high against Italy.

The back-to-back champions saw their bid for a Grand Slam ended in emphatic style by France at Aviva Stadium last Saturday with the 42-27 defeat all but ending hopes of an historic Six Nations third title in a row.

Ireland, playing first on the final round's "Super Saturday" trail table toppers France by two points and need a bonus-point win at Stadio Olimpico to have a chance of retaining their title but also need Wales to beat second-placed England and Scotland to do the same to deny Les Bleus their first championship since their 2022 Grand Slam.

Interim head coach Simon Easterby has made six changes and a positional switch to the side which was swept aside by the rampant French with Crowley making his first start since last November's home Test against Argentina.

Sam Prendergast's continuing rise in the 2025 Six Nations has seen the Corkman used sparingly at full-back with his rival given 80 minutes at 10 in the last three matches and the 25-year-old's perceived disaffection with the situation has seen Leicester Tigers reportedly launch a big-money bid to secure his exit from Munster for next season.

Jack Conan is handed his second start of the campaign at blindside flanker for Peter O'Mahony, who moves to the bench for his final Test match.

Cian  Healy, O'Mahony and Conor Murray made their final home Test appearances in Dublin last weekend but Ireland’s record appearance maker will now bow out with 137 caps, with O'Mahony and Murray are named on the bench for caps 114 and 125 respectively.

IRELAND (v Italy): 

H Keenan (Leinster); M Hansen (Connacht), G Ringrose (Leinster), R Henshaw (Leinster), J Lowe (Leinster); J Crowley (Munster), J Gibson-Park (Leinster); A Porter (Leinster), D Sheehan (Leinster), F Bealham (Connacht); J Ryan (Leinster), T Beirne (Munster); J Conan (Leinster), J van der Flier (Leinster), C Doris (Leinster, c).

Replacements: G McCarthy (Leinster), J Boyle (Leinster), T Furlong (Leinster), J McCarthy (Leinster), P O’Mahony (Munster), C Murray (Munster), S Prendergast (Leinster), B Aki (Connacht).