Ireland beat Italy 20-13 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 14 February 2026, a tighter Round 2 contest than the hosts would have liked as the Azzurri continued to show they are no longer the whipping boys of the Six Nations.

After a deflating Round 1 defeat, Ireland needed a response, and Andy Farrell’s side delivered one, albeit without much polish. The Aviva Stadium crowd sensed nerves early as Italy, buoyed by their own Round 1 victory, arrived in Dublin with genuine belief. Jack Crowley opened the scoring with a penalty after 8 minutes, but Italy hit back through a well-worked try finished by Ange Capuozzo, whose electric pace off the back of a slick Italian phase-play move left the Irish defence grasping at air. Tommaso Allan converted to put the visitors 7-3 ahead, and the stadium fell quiet.

Ireland’s pack eventually began to assert itself. Tadhg Beirne was immense at the lineout, stealing two Italian throws in the first half alone, while Josh van der Flier carried relentlessly around the fringes. Garry Ringrose’s midfield running created the platform for Ireland’s first try late in the opening period, a close-range finish from Caelan Doris that Crowley converted to make it 10-7 at the break. The second half followed a similar pattern. Italy refused to wilt, with captain Michele Lamaro leading a ferocious defensive effort and Allan slotting a penalty to level the scores at 13-13 entering the final quarter. Lorenzo Cannone and Nicolo Cannone were physical presences in the Italian pack, disrupting Irish set-piece ball and slowing momentum at every ruck.

Ireland’s quality told in the closing stages. A surging break from Bundee Aki found Hugo Keenan in support, and the full-back’s offload to Jimmy O’Brien produced the decisive try with 12 minutes remaining. Crowley added the extras and then a late penalty to seal a 20-13 victory, but this was far from comfortable. Ireland will need significant improvement if they harbour title ambitions, while Italy’s performance confirmed their status as genuine competitors in the 2026 championship. Lamaro and his squad left Dublin with heads held high, knowing they had pushed one of Europe’s strongest sides to the limit.

Kick-off at the Aviva Stadium was 14:10 GMT, which was 15:10 CET in Rome, 09:10 EST on the east coast of the United States, and 06:10 PST on the west coast. Fans in Dublin watched under clear February skies as Ireland ground out a result that kept their championship hopes alive heading into Round 3.