Ireland v Italy: Teams

Brian O'Driscoll is delighted to be reunited with Leinster colleague Gordon D'Arcy in Ireland's midfield for the visit of Italy in the RBS Six Nations opener.

D'Arcy has been rewarded for his fine form this season, displacing Ulster's Paddy Wallace who was first choice at inside centre during last season's Grand Slam.

"I'm pleased that Gordon is back. It took him time a while to get back from that broken arm - he was out for a year," said O'Driscoll.

"It's great that he's hitting form and it's good to have Paddy playing well also.

"There's so much competition in the team - it means you always get the best out of one another and ensure complacency doesn't creep in.

"You just can't afford to think that the jersey is yours for a full campaign."

Italy are given little chance by the bookmakers of upsetting the champions, but Ireland coach Declan Kidney insists any side coached by Nick Mallett should not be dismissed so easily.

"I've always admired Nick and his teams - they always play for each other," he said. "Nick is tidying up little bits, while at the same time retaining their core values."

Late change

Ireland were forced into a late change when second rower Donncha O'Callaghan failed a fitness test on a knee injury. Leinster skipper Leo Cullen is promoted from the bench, while Munster forward Donnacha Ryan, who has won three caps for Ireland, has been called up to take Cullen's place.

Veteran No.10 Ronan O'Gara will start at fly-half after Jonathan Sexton was ruled out through injury.

Paddy Wallace, who played at fly-half in Ireland A's defeat by England Saxons on Sunday, starts on the bench.

Leinster back row Kevin McLaughlin will make his debut at blindside flanker after Stephen Ferris was ruled out with a knee injury.

Ferris picked up the injury during Ulster's Heineken Cup match against Bath 10 days ago and has been rested with Ireland's potentially crucial match against France on Saturday week in mind.

Andrew Trimble's strong form for Ulster gets its reward with a first international appearance since March 2008 - Keith Earls making way on the left wing.

In the front row, Munster's Jerry Flannery starts at hooker, despite having not played for the province since recovering from the Achilles injury that has sidelined him for two months.

Ulster's Rory Best, who also started for Ireland 'A' in Bath last weekend, is included on the bench as he continues his comeback from neck surgery.

Kept faith

Italy coach Nick Mallett has kept faith with the same squad that beat Samoa in November for the trip to Dublin.

The Azzurri won the final Test of 2009 against the Samoans 24-6 - a result which ended a 13-match winless streak.

Bayonne fly-half Craig Gower has recovered from a knee injury and has been handed the number 10 role, while Benetton Treviso's Alessandro Zanni will replace injured captain Sergio Parisse at number 8.

Inspirational leader Parisse is out for the entire tournament with a knee injury, so Leonardo Ghiraldini will serve as captain.

Italy have won just one of their last 10 games in the Six Nations, a 23-20 victory over Scotland in Rome nearly two years ago.

Ireland: R Kearney (Leinster); T Bowe (Ospreys), B O'Driscoll (Leinster capt), G D'Arcy (Leinster), A Trimble (Ulster); R O'Gara (Munster), T O'Leary (Munster); C Healy (Leinster), J Flannery (Munster), J Hayes (Munster); L Cullen (Leinster), P O'Connell (Munster), K McLaughlin (Leinster), D Wallace (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster).
Replacements: R Best (Ulster), T Court (Ulster), D Ryan (Munster), S O'Brien (Leinster), E Reddan (Leinster), P Wallace (Ulster), K Earls (Munster).

Italy: 15 L McLean (Benetton Treviso); 14 K Robertson (Viadana), 13 G Canale (Clermont-Aubergne), 12 G Garcia (Benetton Treviso), 11 Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais); 10 C Gower (Bayonne), 9 T Tebaldi (Gran Parma); 1 S Perugini (Bayonne), 2 L Ghiraldini (Benetton Treviso), 3 M Castrogiovanni (Leicester Tigers), 4 C Del Fava (Viadana), 5 Q Geldenhuys (Viadana), 6 J Sole (Viadana), 7 Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais), 8 A Zanni (Benetton Treviso)
Replacements: 16 F Ongaro (Saracens), 17 M Aguero (Saracens), 18 M Bortolami (Gloucester), 19 P Derbyshire (Petrarca Padova), 20 S Picone (Treviso), 21R Bocchino (Rovigo), 22 A Masi (Racing Metro Paris).