Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has made four changes to his pack to face Italy, bringing in a mix of youth and experience that includes handing No.8 Jack Conan a Six Nations debut.

The 25-year-old Conan, who has scored four tries in five Tests for his country so far, allows CJ Stander a break at the back of the scrum where he will be joined by Dan Leavy, who replaces his injured Leinster teammate Josh van der Flier.

Jack McGrath swaps places with Cian Healy at loosehead prop while Devin Toner will collect his 55th cap as he returns in place of James Ryan following the 21-year-old’s own impressive championship debut in last weekend’s last-gasp win in France.

Five-eighth Johnny Sexton, whose long-range drop goal secured a winning start in Paris, leads an unchanged back line that will likely feature the uncapped Jordan Larmour at some point after the 20-year-old Leinster flyer was named among the replacements.

“Some of it is mileage,” Schmidt told a news conference. “CJ Stander I think had 42 cleanouts and 23 carries in Paris, which while not attritional for CJ – he’s in great shape – it’s really probably rewarding some performance from Jack Conan in recent times as well.”

“It’s also that opportunity to keep a freshness. These Six Nations games do become, if nothing else, mentally attritional. By the time we came back from Paris on Sunday evening, we had some fairly sore, tired bodies.”

IRELAND: Rob Kearney, Keith Earls, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale, Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Dan Leavy, Peter O’Mahony, Devin Toner, Iain Henderson, Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Jack McGrath. Replacements: Sean Cronin, Cian Healy, Andrew Porter, Quinn Roux, CJ Stander, Kieran Marmion, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour.