Ireland's title hopes end despite bonus-point win in Italy

Men's Six Nations

Italy (10) 17

Tries: Ioane, Varney Cons: Allan 2 Pen: Allan

Ireland (12) 22

Tries: Keenan, Sheehan 3 Con: Crowley

Ireland held disconnected a spirited Italy to unafraid a bonus-point triumph successful Rome, but their hopes of winning a 3rd consecutive Six Nations rubric were ended by England's triumph implicit Wales.

Hugo Keenan's first-half people and Dan Sheehan's hat-trick ensured a triumph that took Ireland to 19 points successful the table, temporarily 3 wide of France and 4 up of England.

But England's thumping triumph successful Cardiff moved Steve Borthwick's broadside supra Ireland and enactment unit connected France, who big Scotland astatine 20:00 GMT successful the tournament's last game.

Italy scored tries done Monty Ioane and Stephen Varney, but paid the terms for sick discipline, with Michele Lamaro sin-binned conscionable earlier the interruption and Ross Vintcent shown reddish successful the 2nd fractional for a precocious deed connected Keenan.

After Sheehan's hat-trick people enactment the visitors 22-10 up, Stephen Varney's effort raised Italy hopes of a uncommon triumph implicit Ireland, but the location side's precocious unit failed to output a winning moment.

Despite England's win, a triumph of immoderate benignant for France against Scotland volition unafraid the rubric for Les Bleus fixed their vastly superior points difference.

With their rubric hopes hanging by a thread and arriving successful Rome connected the backmost of a humbling decision by France, skipper Caelan Doris said Ireland needed to decorativeness the run with their "best performance".

But this did not travel close. Against France, Ireland dominated the opening 20 minutes without scoring a point. Here, they started ponderously and Italy took advantage, constructing a beauteous opening effort aft 12 minutes.

In-form centre Tommaso Menoncello broke done a mates of tackles and offloaded to Paolo Garbisi, whose perfectly weighted grubber footwear was dotted down by Ioane.

Italy could person scored a 2nd effort a fewer minutes aboriginal had it not been for a knock-on pursuing different awesome Menoncello surged done the Ireland midfield.

After that let-off, Ireland got their enactment unneurotic somewhat, and aft the TMO ruled retired a Finlay Bealham effort for the prop's treble movement, Jack Crowley sent Keenan done for the Ireland opener.

It did not rather unfastened the floodgates. Instead, Garry Ringrose - backmost from suspension - was caught offside and Tommaso Allan nailed a long-range punishment to enactment Italy 10-7 ahead.

But Italy mislaid forwards Dino Lamb, Sebastian Negri and Lorenzo Cannone to wounded successful the archetypal fractional and their origin was not helped erstwhile squad skipper Michele Lamaro, who had been dropped to the bench, was sin-binned for deliberately knocking the shot retired of Jamison Gibson-Park's hands astatine the backmost of a ruck.

Lamaro was furious with himself and Italy's woes lone deepened erstwhile Ireland instantly pounced done Sheehan to pb 12-10 astatine the break.

Ireland stretched the pb to 7 erstwhile Sheehan scored a near-identical 2nd effort disconnected the backmost of a maul earlier Vintcent received a yellowish paper - aboriginal upgraded to a 20-minute reddish - for a unsafe tackle connected Keenan.

The 3rd Ireland effort was the prime of the bunch. Gibson-Park launched a pinpoint footwear to the wing, wherever Mack Hansen tapped the shot backmost for Sheehan to implicit his treble.

That bonus-point people should person settled Irish nerves, but aft fly-half Crowley - making his archetypal commencement of the tourney - missed his 3rd conversion attempt, Italy rallied.

After a superb interruption from Ange Capuozzo, replacement scrum-half Varney touched down arsenic Hansen misjudged the bounce of the shot wrong Ireland's in-goal area.

Allan's conversion brought Italy to wrong 5 points but, contempt applying aggravated unit successful the closing stages, Ireland - who had a 5th effort ruled retired aft James Lowe was adjudged to person been successful interaction - held connected to clinch a constrictive win.

Ireland besides bid farewell to veterans Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray, some of whom received rapturous ovations erstwhile introduced from the bench.

Cian Healy, who played his past Test past week against France, joined his team-mates connected the transportation astatine the extremity to question goodbye to the Ireland fans.

But contempt a hard-fought win, the trio volition not discontinue with different rubric astatine the extremity of an yet disappointing run for the Irish.

Italy: Allan; Capuozzo, Brex (capt), Menoncello, Ioane; Garbisi, Page-Relo; Fischetti, Lucchesi, Ferrari; Lamb, Ruzza; Negri, Zuliani, L Cannone.

Replacements: Nicotera, Spagnolo, Zilocchi, N Cannone, Lamaro, Vintcent, Varney, Marin.

Sin-bin: Lamaro (40), Nicotera (80)

Red card: Vintcent (56)

Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Ringrose, Henshaw, Lowe; Crowley, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Bealham; Ryan, Beirne; Conan, Van der Flier, Doris (capt).

Replacements: G McCarthy, Boyle, Furlong, J McCarthy, O'Mahony, Murray, Prendergast, Aki.

Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng)