After the pain in Paris, Ireland will be looking for Dublin delight when they host an Italian side on an upward trajectory.
Ireland manager Andy Farrell has made half a dozen changes in personnel, with no shortage of postmortems into Ireland's opening round defeat.
Pessimism has not been in short supply, but if ever there was a fixture where an Irish team would seek out to get back on the horse, it is a date with the Azzurri.
Ireland have won 25 of the 26 Six Nations encounters between the sides, with 13 defeats on the trot in Dublin. Some of those defeats have been utterly comprehensive, but few expect a smiliar margin come Saturday evening with Italy showing serious form under Gonzalo Quesada and the defeat of Scotland last time out was far from the shock it would have been in previous years.
Find out all you need to know about the game here.
ONLINE
Follow a live blog of Ireland v Italy on RTE.ie/sport and the RTÉ News App followed by report, reaction and player ratings.
RADIO
Listen to live commentary of Ireland v Italy on RTÉ Radio 1.
TV
Ireland v Italy (Saturday, 2.10pm Irish time) and Scotland v England (Saturday, 4.40pm) are live on Virgin Media.
Wales v France (Sunday, 3.10pm) is on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Highlights of all of the weekend's games are on Against The Head, Monday, 8pm, RTÉ2.
WEATHER
Saturday: A frosty start with some icy patches. After the recent deluge of rain, it is expected to be dry on Saturday during daylight hours, though it will be a cold one, with highest temperatures of just 3 to 7 degrees.
Taking stock
The opening round of the Six Nations anually sets the tone for the remainder of the championship. Yes, things can change quickly in the tournament that dates back to 1883, but the narratives firmly take hold.
Round 1 contained few shocks. The general consensus was that Wales are in rag order on and off the pitch, England look to be building nicely under Steve Borthwick, Scotland under Gregor Townsend appear to be making serious headway as a Six Nations contender and Italy look are an improving outfit with serious ambitions of picking up home and away wins this season.
The pre-tournament chatter in Ireland hasn't been so downbeat in quite a while, while Antoin Dupont-inspred France were tipped by as the most likely winners. Nothing we saw from Twickenham, Stadio Olimpico and Stade de France suggested a significant detour from the storylines, though the Irish postmortems have been coming thick and fast.
From the ongoing debate at 10, to the need for freshening up the team, macro-level items such as the player pathway programmes in the country have been discussed following a below-par performance against Les Bleus.
Twelve months ago Ireland had ambitions of three-in-a-row, and at this juncture, find themelves in the middle of the pack, seemingly adrift of the traditional big two in France and England.
Yet if ever there was a 'pic-me-up' fixture for Ireland, the visit of Italy is it. Thirteen times they have travelled to Dublin and thirteen times they have left defeated, the Azzurri often saving their worst performances for the Aviva Stadium.
Two years ago they failed to register a score, and the aggregate score from last three Six Nations games on Lansdowne Road reads 143-23 in Ireland's favour. That said, Ireland's five-point victory in Rome was proof in some quarters that the gap has narrowed with Ireland struggling to recapture past form.
Quesada will surely sense a historic win on Irish soil is within their grasp. Having taken over from New Zealander Kieran Crowley ahead of the 2024 season, he has led the team to four wins in the Six Nations and a draw with France.
Farrell has spoken of their threat all week, and backed it up by going with more frontliners than at times in the past in the fixture. Winger Robert Baloucoune and flanker Cormac Izuchukwu will look to take their opportunities in a starting jersey, as well as Munster's Edwin Edogbo off the bench.
The game is a significant one also for referee Hollie Davidson, with the 33-year-old Scottish official set to become the first female referee to take charge of a men's Six Nations game.
TEAMS
Ireland: Jamie Osborne; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Cormac Izuchukwu, Caelan Doris (capt), Jack Conan.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Tom O'Toole, Tadhg Furlong, Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Crowley.
Italy: Lorenzo Pani; Louis Lynagh, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Alessandro Fusco; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari; Niccolo Cannone, Andrea Zambonin; Michele Lamaro (capt), Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: Tommaso di Bartolomeo, Mirco Spagnolo, Muhamed Hasa, Federico Ruzza, Riccardo Favretto, David Odiase, Alessandro Garbisi, Paolo Odogwu.
OFFICIALS
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Italy 17-22 Ireland - Stadio Olimpico (15 March 2025, Six Nations)
Ireland 36-0 - Aviva Stadium (11 February 2024, Six Nations)
Ireland 33-17 - Aviva Stadium (05 August 2023, World Cup warm-up)
Italy 20-34 Ireland - Stadio Olimpico (25 February 2023, Six Nations)
Ireland 57-6 - Aviva Stadium (28 February 2022, Six Nations)
