Andy Farrell says his Ireland players are being given a chance to stake their claim on a starting place as they look to bounce back from defeat to France against Italy.

Ireland fell to a disappointing 36-14 defeat to the reigning Six Nations champions in Paris last Thursday.

And in response, Farrell has made six alterations for their next match against Italy, who won their tournament opener against Scotland.

Robert Baloucoune and Cormac Izuchukwu will make their Six Nations debuts, with Jack Conan, Craig Casey, James Lowe and James Ryan also coming into the side.

Baloucoune is poised for his first international appearance since November 2022, while Izuchukwu is back after recovering from a toe injury that saw him miss the autumn series.

Edwin Edogbo is also set to make his international debut after being named on the bench, where Tadhg Furlong is also named after recovering from a calf injury.

And Farrell is delighted to name a team that overall contains six new starters and three additions to the bench.

"It's something that obviously excites us," Farrell told RTE Sport.

"The team that we've picked is the right one for this weekend for a number of reasons – last week's performance, trying to get people a chance to show what they've got and how the format of the Six Nations has changed.

Saturday's team. pic.twitter.com/IMsR0u9jE9

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"It all gets thrown into the pot, but at the forefront of that is a team that's picked to play against a very good Italian side.

"A few doors left open across the team and a few opportunities there to be taken. And people need to do that.

"Very happy [with the week's training] because nobody was holding back, so there's a lot of honesty there, there's no excuses. There's no doubt [we want a reaction]."

Ireland have won 25 of their 26 matches against Italy in the Six Nations, including their last 12 in a row.

And Ireland have won each of their 13 home games against Italy in the Six Nations, the only team they have a 100% winning rate against in Dublin in the Championship.

Ireland team to face Italy

Starting XV: Jamie Osborne, Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe, Sam Prendergast, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Caelan Doris (captain), Jack Conan.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Tom O'Toole, Tadhg Furlong, Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Crowley.