Ireland lose Sexton to training injury; Castrogiovanni out for Italy in Six Nations

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Italy's Luciano Orquera, center, passes the ball away from England during their Six Nations rugby union match at Twickenham Stadium in London, Sunday, March 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Ireland has never lost to Italy in the Brian O'Driscoll era.

A 14-year era that could be about to end on Saturday, in Rome.

O'Driscoll hinted before the Six Nations that this could be his last campaign, but he isn't expected to confirm his future intentions for a few more weeks.

Regardless of the result in a sold-out Stadio Olimpico, O'Driscoll's performances in the tournament have underlined that the 34-year-old remains the premier centre in the northern hemisphere.

He was man of the match in the opening win over Wales, played against England within hours of the birth of his first child, and finished against France last weekend despite mild concussion, a dead leg, and a torn ear that needed eight stitches.

Asked if this will be O'Driscoll's last game for Ireland, coach Declan Kidney said, "Please God, it won't be. He's got himself right, he's playing as good as he's ever played."

Italy last beat Ireland in 1997, before it joined the Six Nations, but an 18th straight win for the Irish on Saturday would ease the considerable pressure on Kidney. The battered and bruised Irish could wind up third, a good result for having a dozen internationals sidelined by injuries.

But a defeat could also hand the Irish the wooden spoon, which it hasn't touched since 1999.

Successive defeats to England and Scotland and last week's draw with France have left Kidney at risk of not receiving a contract extension after this season.

"I haven't been thinking about anything other than trying to get ourselves ready for Saturday," Kidney said when asked if this could be his last match in charge. "We have a huge task ahead of us. The Italy game is always the most physical of all the games you play.

"(The tournament) has been frustrating in terms of results and in terms of creating opportunities and not finishing them off. But the lads have been working really hard, they're a joy to work with."

Kidney and Ireland were dealt a blow less than two hours after he named his side on Thursday, when flyhalf Jonathan Sexton had to withdraw after tearing a tendon in his left foot during training that morning. Sexton had only just recovered from a hamstring strain which kept him out of the last two games.

That meant winger Craig Gilroy's return marked Ireland's only change.

Italy also lost a figurehead when tighthead prop Martin Castrogiovanni was ruled out because of the left leg he injured in the unlucky 18-11 loss to England last weekend.

Italy's battling defeat at Twickenham, after its opening win over France, showed it was no longer the easybeat of the Six Nations, said Ireland fullback Rob Kearney.

"They aren't a walkover," Kearney said. "We can say it as players and now people genuinely believe it. In the past it's always been lose-lose. If you win you expect it and if you lose you get hammered for it. Now no one is under no illusions as to how good they are.

"The one difference that stands out for me this year is that they are now really comfortable with the ball. They will happily go through 10, 12 or 15 phases and try to keep playing rugby and look for tries."

But while they know how to keep possession, consistent results still elude the Azzurri.

"That's our challenge," coach Jacques Brunel said. "After the France game, we struggled a lot against Scotland, but now we're coming off the back of an interesting game against England and we hope to prove ourselves again."

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Lineups:

Italy: Andrea Masi, Giovanbattista Venditti, Gonzalo Canale, Gonzalo Garcia, Luke McLean, Luciano Orquera, Edoardo Gori; Sergio Parisse (captain), Simone Favaro, Alessandro Zanni, Joshua Furno, Quintin Geldenhuys, Lorenzo Cittadini, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Andrea Lo Cicero. Reserves: Davide Giazzon, Michele Rizzo, Alberto De Marchi, Antonio Pavanello, Francesco Minto, Paul Derbyshire, Tobias Botes, Tommaso Benvenuti.

Ireland: Rob Kearney, Craig Gilroy, Brian O'Driscoll, Luke Marshall, Keith Earls, Paddy Jackson, Conor Murray; Jamie Heaslip (captain), Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony, Donnacha Ryan, Mike McCarthy, Mike Ross, Rory Best, Cian Healy. Reserves: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Stephen Archer, Devin Toner, Iain Henderson, Paul Marshall, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald.