Italy coach Nick Mallett chose four new players on Thursday and made two positional changes to the team that lost to England 36-11 in the first game of the Six Nations.

Mallett came under fire for his failed experiment of playing flanker Mauro Bergamasco at scrumhalf, but the Stade Francais player returns to his usual position for the game against Ireland on Sunday.

Paul Griffen is expected to make his 39th international appearance in the No.9 shirt, his first cap since the 2007 World Cup. Rookie Giulio Toniolatti, who replaced Bergamasco at Twickenham, is on the bench.

The New Zealand-born Griffen will form a halfback combination with Luke McLean. McLean replaced the injured Andrea Marcato in the first half at Twickenham and scored two penalties. Marcato is out of the squad after failing to recover from a neck injury.

The younger Bergamasco brother, Mirco, also changes position. Italy's try scorer against England moves from the wing to center, with Matteo Pratichetti wearing the No. 11 jersey.

In the forwards, Marco Bortolami is absent with a knee injury, so Tommaso Reato replaces the Gloucester second row. Ulster's Carlo Del Fava returns from injury to offer cover from the bench.

Ireland beat Italy 51-24 the last time the teams met in Rome in 2007.

Italy: Andrea Masi, Kaine Robertson, Gonzalo Canale, Mirco Bergamasco, Matteo Pratichetti, Luke McLean, Paul Griffen, Sergio Perugini, Fabio Ongaro, Martin Castrogiovanni, Santiago Dellape, Tommaso Reato, Alessandro Zanni, Mauro Bergamasco, Sergio Parisse (capt). Res: Carlo Festuccia, Carlos Nieto, Carlo Del Fava, Josh Sole, Giulio Toniolatti, Gonzalo Garcia, Andrea Bacchetti.

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