O'Shea trims Six Nations squad for Ireland clash

Rome - Italy coach Conor O'Shea on Tuesday trimmed back his Six Nations squad to 26 players ahead of their second tournament game against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

After a final training session in Rome, Irishman O'Shea released five players back to their clubs -- injured flanker Giovanni Licata, George Biagi, Giulio Bisegni, Renato Giammarioli and Edoardo Padovani.

Italy lost their opening match against defending champions England 46-15 in the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday and travel to Ireland on Wednesday.

Ireland beat France 15-13 in their Six Nations curtain raiser. The last time Italy beat Ireland was in a Six Nations tie in Rome in 2013, with the Irish winning their last five clashes.

Italy squad

Forwards (15): Simone Ferrari, Andrea Lovotti, Tiziano Pasquali, Nicola Quaglio, Marco Riccioni; Luca Bigi, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Oliviero Fabiani; Dean Budd, Federico Ruzza, Alexander Zanni; Maxime Mbanda, Sebastian Negri, Sergio Parisse (capt), Abraham Steyn

Backs (11): Edoardo Gori, Marcello Violi, Tomasso Allan, Carlo Canna, Ian McKinley, Mattia Bellini, Tomasso Benvenuti, Tomasso Boni, Tomasso Castello, Jayden Hayward, Matteo Minozzi