Speaking ahead of Ireland's final RBS 6 Nations match against Italy, second row Mike McCarthy said: "It's the last game and we really just want to finish on a high. The onus is on the players to close these games out. We've prepared well and hopefully we'll finish strongly this weekend."

Flanker Sean O'Brien says the Ireland squad have travelled across to Italy with confidence, boosted by a positive week of training, as they look to end the 2013 RBS 6 Nations with a victory at Rome's Stadio Olimpico.

Speaking ahead of Ireland's final RBS 6 Nations match against Italy, hooker Rory Best said: "We took a lot of positives from the France game, we'll take those forward and build on them. We can potentially finish third in the Championship and we're looking to end the campaign with a good win in Rome."

Speaking ahead of Ireland's upcoming RBS 6 Nations encounter with France, prop Mike Ross said: "We were enormously frustrated after the Scottish game. We're playing at home (this Saturday), it's a big source of pride for us. We want to get back to winning ways. Even though the Championship is gone, it's our home patch and you want to win every time you pull on the green jersey."

Speaking ahead of Ireland's upcoming RBS 6 Nations clash with France, hooker Rory Best said: "We still have two games left to play and we have to make sure we finish well. It's going to be a tough challenge against France. But we're back at home, it's a sell-out and we need to make sure we put away the chances we create more efficiently than we have done."

Ireland head coach Declan Kidney and team manager Michael Kearney took part in a press conference at Carton House on Thursday issuing an update on the injured players in the squad and speaking about the build-up to Saturday week's RBS 6 Nations match against France.