Ireland bench Sam Prendergast as Easterby turns to Jack Crowley for Italy clash

Despite much debate, Prendergast has been the first-choice Irish 10 for the tournament, but he has not truly nailed down the position.

And after a poor performance against France in the 42-27 Six Nations defeat, a result which ended their Grand Slam dreams, Easterby has decided to bring back Jack Crowley.

The Munster playmaker was usurped by his rival in the Autumn Nations Series but he is now back in the saddle and has a chance to impress having been named alongside Jamison Gibson-Park at half-back against Italy.

Crowley marshals a backline which sees two more alterations as Mack Hansen and Garry Ringrose return from injury and suspension respectively.

James Lowe is also selected in the back three after pulling out very late on last weekend having suffered an issue in the warm-up.

Up front, captain Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier continue in the back row, but they have been joined by Jack Conan, who replaces Peter O'Mahony.

Ahead of them at lock, Joe McCarthy has been moved to the bench after he was yellow carded for a cynical challenge against Les Bleus, an action coach Andrew Goodman called "stupid".

That means James Ryan comes into the engine room and combines with Tadhg Beirne, while the front row remains unchanged.

On the bench, Cian Healy does not get the chance to have one final send-off but fellow retiring greats, Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray, are in the 23.

Youngster Jack Boyle is instead the loosehead cover and he is joined among the replacements by fit-again Tadhg Furlong.

Gus McCarthy and O'Mahony are the other forward options as Ireland revert to a 5-3 split, with Murray, Prendergast and Bundee Aki covering the backs.

"While there was disappointment with certain aspects of our performance last weekend, we are thankful for the chance to get back on the horse this week," Easterby said.

"We've shown our resilience in recent years and I have no reason to believe that the game in Rome this weekend will be any different.

"The attitude of the players has been spot on since we gathered on Sunday evening, and you can sense a determination amongst everyone to give their best performance of the campaign. That's both the challenge and the opportunity that faces us this week.

"A lot has been made about the various permutations at play, and it certainly makes for a dramatic day of international rugby.

"Our primary focus is on our performance and we are determined to finish our campaign on a positive note."

Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.

Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Peter O'Mahony, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Bundee Aki. 

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