Italy are under pressure at scrum time once again.

Sergio Parisse reaches under his second rows' feet to pull the ball out of the furnace.

A bit of a knock-on from the Italy captain though as Conor Murray nips at his back-pedalling heels.

Ireland scrum, 15m out.

Tony Ward
Former Ireland and Lions fly-half on BBC Radio Ulster

Very positive from the start for Ireland.

Image source, Reuters

Italy defend manfully. A little buzz around the ground as Sergio Parisse gets his bear paws on the ball for the first time.

A bit of aerial back and forth. Simon Zebo pirouttes likes Fred Astaire and darts down the line. Italy haul him down and earn the scrum on their own 22m.

A little bit of fidgit and wriggle at the first scrum. Ref Glen Jackson is not happy and gets the two front rows to reset.

When they finally do get the set-piece underway it is a landslide victory for Ireland.

A mighty shove sends Italy into reverse, Cian Healey jack-knifing Lorenzo Cittadini.

Penalty Ireland and they boot into Italy's 22m.

We are up and running. Glen Jackson, the former Saracen, is on whistle duty.

The stadium stand as one and applaud the memory of former South Africa scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen who died earlier this week at the age of 45.

Matt Dawson wrote movingly about his rival and friend.

A malfunctioning dressing room heater. Deflated practice balls. Flying daffodils (!?).

I wonder if off-key national anthem rendition could be added to Eddie Jones' list of pre-match psyche-out tricks.

Ireland's Call lacks a certain bounce and zip, but the hosts blast through their own tune with the backing of suddenly revitalised brass band.

Tony Ward
Former Ireland and Lions fly-half on BBC Radio Ulster

"Italy boss Conor O'Shea has brought in three very physical players for this game. What we do know is that both teams are going to go at this hammer and tongs in the first 10 minutes."

Italy: Padovani, Esposito, Benvenuti, McLean, Venditti, Canna, Gori, Lovotti, Ghiraldini, Cittadini, Fuser, van Schalkwyk, Mbanda, Favaro, Parisse. Replacements: Gega, Panico, Chistolini, Biagi, Steyn, Bronzini, Allan, Campagnaro. 

Ireland: Kearney, Earls, Ringrose, Henshaw, Zebo, Jackson, Murray, C. Healy, Scannell, Furlong, D. Ryan, Toner, Stander, O'Brien, Heaslip. Replacements: Tracy, McGrath, J. Ryan, Dillane, van der Flier, Marmion, Keatley, Gilroy. 

The teams are in the tunnel in the Stadio Olimpico.

Sergio Parisse and Jamie Heaslip, standing in for the ill Rory Best, are at the front of the Italy and Ireland queues.

They climb the stairs and emerge from the depths into a dry, but chilly afternoon.

Time to call the register...

Chris Jones
BBC Radio 5 live rugby reporter

"Standing room only at the iconic Angel Hotel in the city centre, our base on 5 live Sport since midday. Nothing can compare to the Cardiff matchday experience, with the stadium, station, and hundreds of pubs all within a few hundred yards of each other."

Live BBC One and Radio 5 live commentary of Wales v England coming up hot on the heels of Italy v Ireland.

Image source, Getty Images

Paddy Jackson's audition to upseat Johnny Sexton from the Ireland 10 seat continues.

The Ulster man was tainted by association in the defeat by Scotland, but his ball-in-hand stats stood up well.

He made more clean breaks than any other player (four) and made more metres (63) than any of his team-mates apart from Rob Kearney.

Sexton is likely to be fit by the time France roll into town for round three in a fortnight's time.

Could a stellar performance from Jackson here keep him sidelined regardless?

Image source, Getty Images

Italy's defeat to Wales at Cardiff last week was their eight consecutive defeat in the Six Nations.

Their last win was against Scotland at Murrayfield in February 2015.

That victory is their only win in the last three Six Nations tournaments.

The Azzurri's win over Ireland on the final weekend of the 2013 tournament was their last Six Nations win at home.

Since then they have lost eight consecutive games by an average margin of 26 points.

Image source, Getty Images

There were some interesting words from Italy's figurehead number eight Sergio Parisse - who plays his club rugby with Stade Francais - about the changes brought in by former London Irish and Harlequins coach O'Shea.

"Conor's most important challenge is to change our mentality," said the 33-year-old.

"Zebre and Treviso play in a very negative environment, losing often. The attitude changes when you have criticism every week and no wins. It's human nature that you start believing you're not good enough.

"It's difficult to expect a winning mentality from those players but Conor is so positive.

"He has put in place an extremely professional environment with the national team."

Ireland have lost their last three away games in the Six Nations, against France, England and last week's defeat to Scotland, 

Their last victory on the road came in the final round of the 2015 championship.

James Burridge
BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Image source, Rex Features

"Conor O'Shea is deep in discussion on the half way line with his new defence coach Brendan Venter. How Italy badly need his force of personality and combative approach to rub off on the Azzurri."

Image source, Rex Features

Conor O'Shea -  who won two of his 35 Ireland caps in those defeats by Italy - is now in charge of his former opponents.

A first-ever win over South Africa in the autumn was promising, as was a 7-3 half-time lead over Wales last time out.

However, they also lost to Tonga in the autumn and saw Wales run in 30 unanswered points in last weekend's second half.

Two steps forward, two steps back.

Image source, Getty Images

The Daily Mail

Image source, Daily Mail

Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward is in bullish mood in the Daily Mail. predicting a convincing win for his former side., external

"I expect England to dominate in the forwards, with the whole side playing the game on the front foot. Suddenly, George Ford and Ben Youngs will come into play much more and the England backs will pose more of an attacking threat."