Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan hopes to avoid a war of attrition with Italy's vaunted pack at Lansdowne Road tomorrow - but insists that Ireland can prevail if they are drawn into a forward collision.
Even without star tighthead Andrea Lo Cicero, who has been named on the bench after recently recovering from a knee injury, the Azzurri are a formidable outfit up front.
They will be desperate to blunt Ireland's attacking ambition by drawing them into a battle in the tight - a situation O'Sullivan is keen to avoid.
"We'll have to move the ball away from Italy's pack as much as possible," he said. "Two years ago we played them at Lansdowne Road in what was a wind tunnel.
"We couldn't pass the football and had to take them on at their own game. It was a really physical encounter which didn't suit us at all.
"We won but it's important we don't try to take them on at their strengths, which is in their forwards. If we have to take them on up front we will - we've done that before and won. But it's a harder day's work because they take a lot of breaking down."
He continued: "We've seen Italy progress as a team. They've developed dramatically from a defensive point of view.
"They defended poorly against Australia last summer but have tightened up significantly since then. They play a much more aggressive defence and will use that approach against us tomorrow."
