"Proper Intent" - Ireland captain Caelan Doris wants hard-hitters Jack Conan and James Ryan to bring fight to Italy

Andy Farrell has made a number of changes for today's clash with Italy, with Edwin Edogbo and Cormac Izuchukwu in the limelight ahead of their Six Nations debuts. However, Jack Conan and James Ryan were among the few players rewarded for their performance off the bench.

"He [Jack Conan] had some of the intent that I'm talking about." Doris said at yesterday's Ireland captain's run. "If you saw his punch on the ball, getting off the line in D, there were a few moments. He and James Ryan, and Nick Timoney, as well, I thought the three of them in particular had proper intent," Doris revealed to reporters at the Aviva Stadium yesterday.

"You could see in small, subtle things, but just their taking the line on, with the ball in hand, and equally getting off the line in defence. And it has an infectious feeling around you, it makes you feel good."

Alongside Ryan and Conan, Izuchukwu and Edogbo will look to have an impact coming into Ireland's senior squad. After previously pulling out of Ireland's Autumn internationals due to injury, Edogbo will make his debut off the bench tomorrow, and is expecting a huge reaction from the crowd.

“Yeah, well, even independently of that, I want to improve my game. It’s both getting an arm around them and driving things our way, but also the individual responsibility of getting your own stuff right as well.” Doris said, as he explained his outlook on guiding tomorrow's debutants.

Italy enter the fray in a hot run of form, having commenced their own Six Nations campaign with a strong 18-15 win over Scotland. During a press conference on Thursday, the Andy Farrell dubbed Gonzalo Quesada’s side as the best Italian side to ever travel to Dublin. Arriving in Italy, having never won a Six Nations test in Dublin, Doris expects a tough challenge today.

Speaking to the members of the media, the Ireland captain expressed the significance of picking up a win over the Azzuri. However, Doris was also quick to highlight the individual strengths of Quesada's team.

Caelen Doris: “We're open to set a marker straight and being back at home as well, it makes it even more important.” Doris explained. "It’s no longer a case of them just being a very passionate team. They’ve got a proper good attack now, defensively they’ve always been pretty strong."

"Their scrum has improved quite a lot, they’ve got a big pack, and they put it up to South Africa in November, but I think probably their biggest weapon is their attack with the back three they have, with some of the forwards, their ability to play at the line, but also pull it back, play wide and deep.”

"I think probably their biggest weapon is their attack with the back three they have, with some of the forwards, their ability to play at the line, but also pull it back, play wide and deep. There's a lot of change of direction that they have."

Following Ireland's defeat at the Stade de France, head coach Andy Farrell bemoaned Ireland's lack of fight and intent. Following the backlash against the head coach for his comments, the Ireland captain addressed the direction Ireland is taking going into today's game.

"All of us collectively are driving the standards in the right way." Doris said. "So [we are] making sure we're driving things in the right way. That was the main message, and not just being on certain individuals or the more senior players, but everyone needing to take proper ownership and accountability of that.”

"There's obviously an awareness that it was poor and it wasn't good enough from us, but equally there were some signs of some very good intent in training, prior to France and again through the week this week."

"It's definitely important to get us back on track. I think Thursday can't derail us too much and that has been a bit of a message during the week."

After the performance in France, with Doris being moved to openside flanker, the Ireland captain has a new back row partner in Ulster's Cormac Izuchukwu today. The 25-year-old Ulster prospect's season has been marred by injuries to the point where he could not even afford to think of an Ireland selection. However, he has finally earned his place in the squad despite the adversity faced over the last year.

"First of all, set-piece. He's been leading some of the lineout D this week, and he's a proper threat in the air there. But, around the park, he's an unbelievable athlete, he's got very good hands, I just want to see him get his hands on the ball, show his pace, show his offloading ability. I'm excited to play with him."

“Yeah, it’s an exciting team we’ve got tomorrow. The message to those guys is to trust themselves. Creating a feeling through how we show up with actions and it can be infectious that but also to the new guys it’s making sure they own it."

Following the performance against France, Andy Farrell made the decision to invite a number of retired Ireland players to return to the camp. Included in that invitation was former Munster winger Keith Earls,and Doris's former Leinster teammate Cian Healy. The scrum was the only aspect of last week's game that went to plan, with Ireland ending the game with a 100% rate in the scrum.

“Church [Cian Healy] was in to meet Fogs [scrum coach John Fogarty] yesterday, ran some scrum stuff, and again sat in on our forward meeting, and lots of one-on-one catch-ups there as well.”

“Great having them back, yeah, I hadn't seen Earlsy in a while, so it was nice to catch up with him. I'm not sure if Earlsy spoke in backs meetings or more formally, but a lot of one-on-one catch-ups and small group catch-ups. I know some of the back three sat down and picked his brains, and some good info is coming back from him."

"We’ve had some footballers in, also, in the past, working with the back three. But, I mean, from my perspective like I mentioned earlier on it really is the battles on the ground."

During Ireland’s heavy loss to France last week, at the Stade de France, the home side dominated the aerial scraps. The French won eight of 11 aerial contests, leading to them taking a 22-point lead early on. Following that, the Ireland captain addressed the issues his side faced in dealing with the French.

“Off the back of last Thursday, high ball, the aerial contest – not only in the air but on the ground as well. I want to take some responsibility as a forward pack in terms of making it easier for the guys in the air around winning the races back, around being hungry to win the scraps on the ground. Out of a number of aerial contests, we didn’t win enough of them over the weekend.”

“Some of our defensive stuff, there wasn’t enough intent across the board, really, attack as well, so bringing intent to what we do is the key. We’re hoping to see that tomorrow, that’s been a big focus point through the week.”

3. Doris was officially named Ireland captain for the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, following the retirement of former captain Peter O'Mahony.