Captain Caelan Doris says Ireland cannot afford ‘passengers’ against Italy
By Edward Elliot, Press Association
Captain Caelan Doris said Ireland cannot afford to have any “passengers” against Italy as he urged team-mates to take greater individual responsibility.
Andy Farrell’s side is under pressure to produce a performance in Saturday’s Dublin clash with the Azzurri in the wake of a dispiriting round-one defeat away to reigning Guinness Six Nations champions France.
Head coach Farrell has made six changes to his starting XV, including handing championship debuts to flanker Cormac Izuchukwu and wing Robert Baloucoune, and naming uncapped lock Edwin Edogbo on the bench.
Doris, who switches from number eight to openside flanker, said: “It is an exciting team we’ve got tomorrow. There are obviously a few changes, so getting cohesion through the week has been important.
“The message to those guys (coming into the team) is to trust themselves.
“Same with all of us, really, off the back of a defeat like that; doubling down on what we’re good at, doing things properly with intent, enjoying it, and enjoying it from doing things properly with intent as well.
“Creating a feeling through how we show up with actions, and it can be infectious. But also to the new guys it’s making sure they own it and make it feel like it’s properly theirs.
“You can’t have any passengers tomorrow, so, yeah, full ownership from everyone.”
Ireland were outclassed during a 36-14 loss in Paris, prompting further question marks about their ability to compete with the world’s best sides.
Doris retains faith in the team’s evolution and hopes the Stade de France setback can be a watershed moment following a thorough internal investigation.
“There have been several chats throughout the week,” he said.
“The big thing has been about holding each other more accountable as a leadership group, as a wider group, all of us taking full ownership and driving things in the right direction.
“We’ve kind of spoken a little bit about last week being a reference point that we’ll hopefully look back on from a place of improvement this week, but also going forward as well.
“There’s a realisation that we do need to improve, but there is still belief in what we’re doing, and just the need to do things properly.”
Italy has lost all of their previous 13 Six Nations matches in Dublin but launched this year’s campaign with an 18-15 win over Scotland.
The Azzurri also pushed Ireland hard on the final weekend of the 2025 tournament before succumbing to a 22-17 loss in Rome.
“It’s no longer a case of them just being a very passionate team,” said Doris.
“They’ve got a properly good attack now, defensively they’ve always been pretty strong and are willing to get off the line and hit properly, and you saw that last week in the wet conditions.
“Their scrum has improved quite a lot, they’ve got a big pack but I think probably their biggest weapon is their attack with the back three they have, with some of the forwards, their ability to play at the line, but also pull it back, play wide and deep.
“For us, it all starts with the collision.”
