A statistical preview of today's Guinness Six Nations third round tie between Ireland and Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome (kick-off 4pm local time/3pm Irish time). 2019 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, February 24 ITALY (6th) v IRELAND (5th), Stadio Olimpico, 4pm local time/3pm Irish time (live Virgin Media One/ITV/UTV/FR2/DMAX/NBC/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/IRFU Live Blog) ITALY: Jayden Hayward (Benetton Rugby); Edoardo Padovani (Zebre), Michele Campagnaro (Wasps), Luca Morisi (Benetton Rugby), Angelo Esposito (Benetton Rugby); Tommaso Allan (Benetton Rugby), Tito Tebaldi (Benetton Rugby); Andrea Lovotti (Zebre), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Toulouse) (capt), Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby), Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby), Dean Budd (Benetton Rugby), Jimmy Tuivaiti (Zebre), Maxime Mbandà (Zebre), Braam Steyn (Benetton Rugby). Replacements: Luca Bigi (Benetton Rugby), Cherif Traoré (Benetton Rugby), Tiziano Pasquali (Benetton Rugby), David Sisi (Zebre), Alessandro Zanni (Benetton Rugby), Guglielmo Palazzani (Zebre), Ian McKinley (Benetton Rugby), Tommaso Castello (Zebre). IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Sean Cronin (St. Mary's College/Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht), Quinn Roux (Galwegians/Connacht), Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) (capt), Sean O'Brien (UCD/Leinster), Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Ulster). Replacements: Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster), Jack McGrath (St. Mary's College/Leinster), John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Iain Henderson (Queen's University/Ulster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster), Jack Carty (Buccaneers/Connacht), Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster). Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand) Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes, Karl Dickson (both England) Television Match Official: Graham Hughes (England) Head-To-Head: Played - 29 Italy Won - 4 Ireland Won - 25 Ireland v Italy – Results Since 2000: 2000: Ireland won 60-13, Dublin 2001: Ireland won 41-22, Rome 2002: Ireland won 32-17, Dublin 2003: Ireland won 37-13, Rome; Ireland won 61-6, Limerick 2004: Ireland won 19-3, Dublin 2005: Ireland won 28-17, Rome 2006: Ireland won 26-16, Dublin 2007: Ireland won 51-24, Rome; Ireland won 23-20, Belfast 2008: Ireland won 16-11, Dublin 2009: Ireland won 38-9, Rome 2010: Ireland won 29-11, Dublin 2011: Ireland won 13-11, Rome; Ireland won 36-6, Dunedin 2012: Ireland won 42-10, Dublin 2013: Italy won 22-15, Rome 2014: Ireland won 46-7, Dublin 2015: Ireland won 26-3, Rome; Ireland won 16-9, London 2016: Ireland won 58-15, Dublin 2017: Ireland won 63-10, Rome 2018: Ireland won 56-19, Dublin; Ireland won 54-7, Chicago Biggest Wins: Italy: Points: 37-29, 1997 Test, Dublin; 37-22, 1997 Test, Bologna; Margin: 37-22, 1997 Test, Bologna Ireland: Points: 63-10, 2017 Six Nations; Margin: 61-6, 2003 Rugby World Cup Warm-Up Individual Records In The Series: Most Points In A Match: Italy 27 (Diego Dominguez 1997); Ireland 30 (Ronan O'Gara 2000) Most Tries In A Match: Italy 2 (Paolo Vaccari 1997); Ireland 4 (Denis Hickie 2003) Most Appearances – Ireland v Italy: 16 - Sergio Parisse 15 - Brian O'Driscoll 14 - Rory Best, Ronan O'Gara 13 - Martin Castrogiovanni, Alessandro Zanni 12 - Mauro Bergamasco, Gordon D'Arcy, John Hayes, Andrea Masi, Paul O'Connell, Salvatore Perugini, Alessandro Troncon 11 - Mirco Bergamasco, Marco Bortolami, Gonzalo Canale, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Luke McLean, Donncha O'Callaghan, Malcolm O'Kelly, Peter Stringer Top Points Scorers – Ireland v Italy: 180 - Ronan O'Gara 96 - Diego Dominguez 74 - Jonathan Sexton 67 - David Humphreys 40 - Denis Hickie 37 - Paddy Jackson 36 - Paul Burke 35 - Keith Earls 30 - Girvan Dempsey, Brian O'Driscoll Top Try Scorers – Ireland v Italy: 8 - Denis Hickie 7 - Keith Earls 6 - Girvan Dempsey, Brian O'Driscoll 5 - Shane Horgan 4 - Tommy Bowe, John Kelly, CJ Stander, Andrew Trimble 3 - Craig Gilroy, Jamie Heaslip, Rob Henderson, Jordan Larmour, Ronan O’Gara, Paolo Vaccari Italy – Form Guide From Start Of The 2018 Six Nations: Lost 46-15 v England home (Six Nations) Lost 56-19 v Ireland away (Six Nations) Lost 34-17 v France away (Six Nations) Lost 38-14 v Wales away (Six Nations) Lost 29-27 v Scotland home (Six Nations) Lost 34-17 v Japan away (Summer Series) Won 25-22 v Japan away (Summer Series) Lost 54-7 v Ireland neutral (Autumn Test) Won 28-17 v Georgia home (Autumn Series) Lost 26-7 v Australia home (Autumn Series) Lost 66-3 v New Zealand home (Autumn Series) Lost 33-20 v Scotland away (Six Nations) Lost 26-15 v Wales away (Six Nations) Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2018 Six Nations: Won 15-13 v France away (Six Nations) Won 56-19 v Italy home (Six Nations) Won 37-27 v Wales home (Six Nations) Won 30-25 v Scotland home (Six Nations) Won 24-15 v England away (Six Nations) Lost 18-9 v Australia away (Summer Series) Won 26-21 v Australia away (Summer Series) Won 20-16 v Australia away (Summer Series) Won 54-7 v Italy neutral (Autumn Test) Won 28-17 v Argentina home (GUINNESS Series) Won 16-9 v New Zealand home (GUINNESS Series) Won 57-14 v USA home (GUINNESS Series) Lost 32-20 v England home (Six Nations) Won 22-13 v Scotland away (Six Nations) International Championship All-Time Records: Points – 557 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland) 546 Jonny Wilkinson (England) 467 Stephen Jones (Wales) 406 Neil Jenkins (Wales) 403 Chris Paterson (Scotland) 388 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales) 380 Owen Farrell (England) 367 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland) 288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland) 286 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland) 270 David Humphreys (Ireland) 232 Paul Grayson (England) Tries – 26 Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland) 24 Ian Smith (Scotland) 22 Shane Williams (Wales) 19 George North (Wales) 18 Gareth Edwards (Wales) 18 Cyril Lowe (England) 18 Rory Underwood (England) Caps – 67 Sergio Parisse (Italy) 65 Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland) 63 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland) 62 Rory Best (Ireland) 60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy) 56 Mike Gibson (Ireland) 56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales) 55 Ross Ford (Scotland) 54 John Hayes (Ireland) 54 Jason Leonard (England) 53 Willie John McBride (Ireland) 53 Chris Paterson (Scotland) 51 Marco Bortolami (Italy) 51 Paul O’Connell (Ireland) 51 Martyn Williams (Wales) 50 Stephen Jones (Wales) 50 Philippe Sella (France) 50 Rory Underwood (England) 50 Alessandro Zanni (Italy) Italy – Most-Capped Players: 136 Sergio Parisse 119 Martin Castrogiovanni 112 Marco Bortolami 109 Alessandro Zanni 106 Mauro Bergamasco 103 Andrea Lo Cicero 101 Leonardo Ghiraldini 101 Alessandro Troncon 95 Andrea Masi 89 Mirco Bergamasco 89 Luke McLean 86 Gonzalo Canale 83 Carlo Checchinato 83 Salvatore Perugini 81 Fabio Ongaro Italy – All-Time Leading Points Scorers: 983 Diego Dominguez 483 Stefano Bettarello 294 Luigi Troiani 260 Ramiro Pez 256 Mirco Bergamasco 245 Tommaso Allan 154 Luciano Orquera Italy – All-Time Leading Try Scorers: 25 Marcello Cuttitta 22 Paolo Vaccari 21 Carlo Checchinato 21 Manrico Marchetto 19 Alessandro Troncon 17 Mirco Bergamasco 17 Serafino Ghizzoni 17 Massimo Mascioletti Ireland – Most-Capped Players: 133 Brian O'Driscoll 128 Ronan O'Gara 115 Rory Best 108 Paul O'Connell 105 John Hayes 98 Peter Stringer 95 Jamie Heaslip 94 Donncha O'Callaghan 92 Malcolm O'Kelly 88 Rob Kearney 86 Cian Healy 82 Gordon D'Arcy 82 Girvan Dempsey 80 Jonathan Sexton 74 Keith Earls 72 David Humphreys 72 Geordan Murphy 72 David Wallace 71 Eoin Reddan 70 Kevin Maggs 70 Andrew Trimble 69 Tommy Bowe 69 Mike Gibson 69 Conor Murray 67 Sean Cronin 67 Marcus Horan Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers: 1083 Ronan O'Gara 748 Jonathan Sexton 560 David Humphreys 308 Michael Kiernan 296 Eric Elwood 245 Brian O'Driscoll 217 Ollie Campbell 195 Paddy Jackson 158 Tom Kiernan 150 Tommy Bowe 145 Denis Hickie 140 Keith Earls Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers: 46 Brian O'Driscoll 30 Tommy Bowe 29 Denis Hickie 28 Keith Earls 21 Shane Horgan 19 Girvan Dempsey 18 Geordan Murphy 17 Brendan Mullin 17 Andrew Trimble 16 Ronan O'Gara 15 Kevin Maggs 15 Keith Wood 14 George Stephenson 13 Jamie Heaslip 13 Rob Kearney 13 Conor Murray 13 Jacob Stockdale 12 Keith Crossan 12 David Wallace 11 Alan Duggan 11 Simon Geoghegan World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers: 1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand) 1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions) 1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions) 1083 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland) 1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy) 970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions) 967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand) 911 Michael Lynagh (Australia) 905 Florin Vlaicu (Romania) 893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa) 878 Matt Burke (Australia) 840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia) 809 Chris Paterson (Scotland) World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers: 67 Bryan Habana (South Africa) 64 David Campese (Australia) 60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions) 50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions) 49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand) 47 Brian O'Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions) 46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand) 46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand) 46 Julian Savea (New Zealand) 44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand) 41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions) 40 Chris Latham (Australia) (Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition) The '100 Caps' Club: 148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand) 141 Brian O'Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions) 139 George Gregan (Australia) 136 Sergio Parisse (Italy) 134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions) 132 Alun Wyn Jones (123-Wales, 9-Lions) 132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand) 130 Ronan O'Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions) 129 Stephen Moore (Australia) 127 Victor Matfield (South Africa) 124 Bryan Habana (South Africa) 119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy) 119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions) 118 Fabien Pelous (France) 118 Kieran Read (New Zealand) 118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand) 117 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia) 116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia) 115 Rory Best (Ireland) 115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia) 115 Paul O'Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions) 115 Florin Vlaicu (Romania) 112 Marco Bortolami (Italy) 112 Dan Carter (New Zealand) 112 Davit Kacharava (Georgia) 111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions) 111 Philippe Sella (France) 111 John Smit (South Africa) 111 George Smith (Australia) 110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions) 109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa) 109 Chris Paterson (Scotland) 109 Alessandro Zanni (Italy) 108 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand) 107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions) 107 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa) 106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy) 106 Catalin Fercu (Romania) 106 Owen Franks (New Zealand) 105 Sean Lamont (Scotland) 104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions) 103 Matt Giteau (Australia) 103 Sekope Kepu (Australia) 103 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia) 103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy) 103 Ma'a Nonu (New Zealand) 103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions) 102 Stephen Larkham (Australia) 102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa) 101 David Campese (Australia) 101 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia) 101 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy) 101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy) 101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal) 101 Vasco Uva (Portugal) 100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania) 100 Will Genia (Australia) 100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions) 100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions) 100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)