Head-To-Head: Ireland v Italy

A statistical preview of Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations round 2 match between Ireland and Italy at Stadio Olimpico in Rome (kick-off 3.25pm local time/2.25pm Irish time).

2017 RBS 6 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, February 11

ITALY (6th) v IRELAND (5th), Stadio Olimpico, 3.25pm local time/2.25pm Irish time (live RTÉ Two/UTV/ITV/DMAX/FR2/RTÉ Radio 1/IRFU Live Blog)

ITALY: Edoardo Padovani (Zebre); Angelo Esposito (Benetton Treviso), Tommaso Benvenuti (Benetton Treviso), Luke McLean (Benetton Treviso), Giovanbattista Venditti (Zebre); Carlo Canna (Zebre), Edoardo Gori (Benetton Treviso); Andrea Lovotti (Zebre), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Toulouse), Lorenzo Cittadini (Bayonne), Marco Fuser (Benetton Treviso), Dries van Schalkwyk (Zebre), Maxime Mbanda (Zebre), Simone Favaro (Glasgow Warriors), Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais) (capt).

Replacements: Ornel Gega (Benetton Treviso), Sami Panico (Patarò Calvisano), Dario Chistolini (Zebre), George Biagi (Zebre), Brahm Steyn (Benetton Treviso), Giorgio Bronzini (Benetton Treviso), Tommaso Allan (Benetton Treviso), Michele Campagnaro (Exeter Chiefs).

IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster); Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster), Sean O’Brien (UCD/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster).

Replacements: Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster), Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht), Ian Keatley (Young Munster/Munster), Craig Gilroy (Bangor/Ulster).

Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Television Match Official: Rowan Kitt (England)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 26
Italy Won – 4
Ireland Won – 22

Ireland v Italy: IRFU Stat Zone

Ireland had won 17 matches in succession against Italy before losing in Rome in March 2013; Italy won three times between 1995 and 1997 before their entry into the RBS 6 Nations Championship

Ireland v Italy – Results Since 2000:

2000: Ireland won 60-13, Dublin
2001: Ireland won 41-22, Rome
2002: Ireland won 32-17, Dublin
2003: Ireland won 37-13, Rome; Ireland won 61-6, Limerick
2004: Ireland won 19-3, Dublin
2005: Ireland won 28-17, Rome
2006: Ireland won 26-16, Dublin
2007: Ireland won 51-24, Rome; Ireland won 23-20, Belfast
2008: Ireland won 16-11, Dublin
2009: Ireland won 38-9, Rome
2010: Ireland won 29-11, Dublin
2011: Ireland won 13-11, Rome; Ireland won 36-6, Dunedin
2012: Ireland won 42-10, Dublin
2013: Italy won 22-15, Rome
2014: Ireland won 46-7, Dublin
2015: Ireland won 26-3, Rome; Ireland won 16-9, London
2016: Ireland won 58-15, Dublin

Biggest Wins:

Italy: Points: 37-29, 1997 Friendly Match, 37-22, 1997 Friendly Match; Margin: 37-22, 1997 Friendly Match

Ireland: Points & Margin: 61-6, 2003 Rugby World Cup Warm-Up

Individual Records In The Series:

Most Points In A Match: Italy 27 (Diego Dominguez 1997); Ireland 30 (Ronan O’Gara 2000)

Most Tries In A Match: Italy 2 (Paolo Vaccari 1997); Ireland 4 (Denis Hickie 2003)

Most Appearances – Ireland v Italy:

15 – Brian O’Driscoll
14 – Ronan O’Gara, Sergio Parisse
13 – Rory Best, Martin Castrogiovanni
12 – Mauro Bergamasco, Gordon D’Arcy, John Hayes, Andrea Masi, Paul O’Connell, Salvatore Perugini, Alessandro Troncon, Alessandro Zanni
11 – Mirco Bergamasco, Marco Bortolami, Gonzalo Canale, Donncha O’Callaghan, Malcolm O’Kelly, Peter Stringer

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v Italy:

180 – Ronan O’Gara
96 – Diego Dominguez
67 – David Humphreys
64 – Jonathan Sexton
40 – Denis Hickie
36 – Paul Burke
30 – Girvan Dempsey, Brian O’Driscoll

Top Try Scorers – Ireland v Italy:

8 – Denis Hickie
6 – Girvan Dempsey, Brian O’Driscoll
5 – Shane Horgan
4 – Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls, John Kelly, Andrew Trimble
3 – Jamie Heaslip, Rob Henderson, Ronan O’Gara, Paolo Vaccari

Italy – Form Guide From Start Of The 2016 Six Nations:

Lost 23-21 v France away (Six Nations)
Lost 40-9 v England home (Six Nations)
Lost 36-20 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Lost 58-15 v Ireland away (Six Nations)
Lost 67-14 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Lost 30-24 v Argentina away (Summer Tour)
Won 24-20 v USA away (Summer Tour)
Won 20-18 v Canada away (Summer Tour)
Lost 68-10 v New Zealand home (November Series)
Won 20-18 v South Africa home (November Series)
Lost 19-17 v Tonga home (November Series)
Lost 33-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2016 Six Nations:

Drew 16-16 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 10-9 v France away (Six Nations)
Lost 21-10 v England away (Six Nations)
Won 58-15 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Won 35-25 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 26-20 v South Africa away (Summer Tour)
Lost 32-26 v South Africa away (Summer Tour)
Lost 19-13 v South Africa away (Summer Tour)
Won 40-29 v New Zealand neutral (Autumn Test)
Won 52-21 v Canada home (GUINNESS Series)
Lost 21-9 v New Zealand home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 27-24 v Australia home (GUINNESS Series)
Lost 27-22 v Scotland away (Six Nations)

International Championship All-Time Records:

Points –
557 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
546 Jonny Wilkinson (England)
467 Stephen Jones (Wales)
406 Neil Jenkins (Wales)
403 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
295 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
288 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
270 David Humphreys (Ireland)
252 Owen Farrell (England)
232 Paul Grayson (England)

Tries –
26 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
24 Ian Smith (Scotland)
22 Shane Williams (Wales)
18 Cyril Lowe (England)
18 Rory Underwood (England)
18 Gareth Edwards (Wales)

Caps –
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
56 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
53 Willie John McBride (Ireland)
53 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
52 Rory Best (Ireland)
51 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
51 Ross Ford (Scotland)
51 Paul O’Connell (Ireland)
51 Martyn Williams (Wales)
50 Philippe Sella (France)
50 Rory Underwood (England)
50 Stephen Jones (Wales)

Italy – Most-Capped Players:

122 Sergio Parisse
119 Martin Castrogiovanni
112 Marco Bortolami
106 Mauro Bergamasco
103 Andrea Lo Cicero
101 Alessandro Troncon
99 Alessandro Zanni
95 Andrea Masi
89 Mirco Bergamasco
86 Gonzalo Canale
85 Luke McLean
83 Carlo Checchinato
83 Leonardo Ghiraldini
83 Salvatore Perugini
81 Fabio Ongaro

Italy – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

983 Diego Dominguez
483 Stefano Bettarello
294 Luigi Troiani
260 Ramiro Pez
256 Mirco Bergamasco
154 Luciano Orquera

Italy – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

25 Marcello Cuttitta
22 Paolo Vaccari
21 Carlo Checchinato
21 Manrico Marchetto
19 Alessandro Troncon
17 Mirco Bergamasco
17 Serafino Ghizzoni
17 Massimo Mascioletti

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
101 Rory Best
98 Peter Stringer
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Jamie Heaslip
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
82 Gordon D’Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
73 Rob Kearney
72 David Humphreys
72 David Wallace
72 Geordan Murphy
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Kevin Maggs
69 Mike Gibson
69 Andrew Trimble

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
587 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
20 Keith Earls
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Ronan O’Gara
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
13 Rob Kearney
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace

World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:

1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O’Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
45 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)

(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)

The ‘100 Caps’ Club:

148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
122 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
117 Stephen Moore (Australia)
116 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Paul O’Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
112 Alun Wyn Jones (106-Wales, 6-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Ross Ford (103-Scotland, 1-Lions)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
101 Rory Best (Ireland)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)