Italy v Ireland: Teams

Italy have recalled Paul Griffen from the international wilderness for Sunday's RBS Six Nations fixture against Ireland in Rome.

Griffen, the 33-year-old New Zealand-born scrum-half, last played for his adopted country at the 2007 World Cup.

But an injury crisis among Italy's other options at number nine has prompted coach Nick Mallett to turn back the clock.

Mauro Bergamasco reverts to the back row after Mallett's failed experiment of starting him at scrum-half during the opening weeked defeat to England.

Griffen's inclusion is one of five changes to the starting XV that lost 36-11 at Twickenham.

Luke McLean comes in at fly-half for Andrea Marcato, who has failed to recover from a neck injury suffered last Saturday.

Garcia benched

Lock Tommaso Reato will replace Marco Bortolami, who misses out due to a knee injury, while Mirco Bergamasco switches from wing to inside centre in place of Gonzalo Garcia.

Matteo Pratichetti takes over on the wing leaving Garcia to be content with a place on the bench.

Ireland have named an unchanged line-up as they look to make it two RBS Six Nations wins in a row when they take on Italy in Rome.

Head coach Declan Kidney has opted to stick with the same side which registered Ireland's first victory over France for six years with Saturday's 30-21 triumph at Croke Park.

Paddy Wallace was thought to be under threat for the inside centre duties from Gordon D'Arcy, but Kidney has kept faith with the Ulster back.

D'Arcy marked his Test return from a broken arm, which kept him out of the game for 10 months, with the crucial final try against Les Bleus after appearing as a substitute for Wallace.

Wallace left the pitch in the first half with blood streaming from an eye wound, which required stitches, but has been given the all-clear to face Italy.

Hayes equals record

Munster hooker Jerry Flannery has recovered from a shoulder injury which cut short his match 10 minutes into the second half.

Captain Brian O'Driscoll will earn his 90th cap on Sunday while prop John Hayes will equal the current Irish record of 91 appearances held by Malcolm O'Kelly, who is on the bench.

"We talked long and hard about whether we would alternate things," coach Kidney said.

"We put a good bit of thought into it, not so much as a negative reflection on how the lads played last Saturday, just the fact we're in a tournament.

"We've a stated objection of trying to build a squad since the start of the season.

"But on the balance of everything I felt it was best to go with the team the way it was because it had done well."

Italy, who were punished for an error-strewn display at Twickenham in their opening match defeat, will be looking for an improved display in front of their home fans.

Ireland's last trip to Rome in 2007 saw them triumph 51-24 but it was a bittersweet experience as they conceded a try on the stroke of full-time that effectively handed France the championship on points difference.

Italy: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Paul Griffen; 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Tommaso Reato, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Salvatore Perugini

Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Carlos Nieto, 18 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 19 Josh Sole, 20 Giulio Toniolatti, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Andrea Bacchetti

Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, (capt), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9- Tomas O'Leary; 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan.

Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Tom Court, 18 Malcolm O'Kelly, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Gordon D'Arcy, 22 Geordan Murphy.