Italy vs Ireland - Conor Murray and Keith Earls see off valiant Italians to secure bonus-point win
Italy were not able to capitalise on their half-time lead as Ireland recovered from a Six Nations scare to emerge from the Stadio Olimpico with a 26-16 victory in the bag and, crucially for their championship hopes, a try-scoring bonus point.
Early scores from Quinn Roux and Jacob Stockdale put Ireland 12-3 to the good, with the home side's response in-between the scores coming from the boot of fly-half Tommaso Allan.
But Italy responded in the best possible way to lead into half-time. First Edoardo Padovani finishes a well-worked move before centre Luca Morisi was on hand to finish a breakaway counter attack, with scrum-half Tito Tebaldi proving hugely influential in their recovery.
Ireland needed to bounce back and it looked nervy when Johnny Sexton put the second-half restart short, but the visitors soon regained their composure and Keith Earls put them back in front with the third try for the men in green, before Conor Murray got on the back of a driving lineout maul to seal the bonus point.
Italy attempted to earn a losing bonus point deep into time added on, but Ian McKinley's penalty effort floated wide and Conor O'Shea’s side left empty handed for the third consecutive match.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's Six Nations clash between Italy and Ireland, brought to you from the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
After today's match concludes, the first three rounds of the championship will be in the bag and we'll be past the halfway point of the tournament, and Ireland know that they cannot afford anything other than a bonus-point victory to keep their championship hopes alive following Wales' win over England yesterday.
The match gets underway at 3pm, but follow all the build-up here as we tick down to kick-off.
Italy: Jayden Hayward; Edoardo Padovani, Michele Campagnaro, Luca Morisi, Angelo Esposito; Tommaso Allan, Tito Tebaldi; Andrea Lovotti, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Simone Ferrari; Federico Ruzza, Dean Budd, Jimmy Tuivaiti, Maxime Mbanda, Braam Steyn.
Replacements: Luca Bigi, Cherif Traore, TIziano Pasquali, Dave Sisi, Alessandro Zanni, Guglielmo Palazzani, Ian McKinley, Tommaso Castello.
Ireland: Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Sean Cronin, Tadhg Furlong, Uthan Dillane, Quinn Roux, Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien, Jordi Murphy.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Jack McGrath, John Ryan, Iain Henderson, Josh Van Der Flier, John Cooney, Jack Carty, Andrew Conway.
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand).
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes and Karl Dickson (both England).
For the first time in an eternity, Rory Best does not feature today. The Ireland skipper has missed one Six Nations match since 2007, an extraordinary feat that not only makes him the second-most capped player in Six Nations history, but has also consigned Leinster Sean Cronin to a role as his understudy.
But that ends today, and at his 68th appearance, Cronin will be making his first Six Nations start of his career. However, Joe Schmidt doesn't expect any let-off from what he normally demands from his starting hooker.
Just 10 minutes away from kick-off in Rome and it's a gloriously sunny day in the Italian capital. That could prove ominous for Italy, given the attacking potential that Ireland withhold and the first-choice back line that Joe Schmidt has selected.
The hosts are also without talismanic captain Sergio Parisse, who is ruled out with concussion after playing for Stade Francais last weekend, and having not won a Six Nations match in their last 19 attempts, do the Azzurri have any realistic chance of winning today? The odds are against them.
With the Six Nations trophy on display in front of them, the players emerge from the underground changing rooms to a warm and sunny welcome. Time for the anthems.
The Italian national anthem rings out in front of what is sadly not a full Stadio Olimpico, and it's a sign of the current state of the national team. The club sides may be flourishing in Benetton and Zebre, but without a Six Nations victory to their name since before the last World Cup, Italy need to give the supporters something to come and watch.
That said, it's a passionately sung anthem that ends with tears in the eyes of some players, and we're ready to go!
2 mins: Bundee Aki makes an immediate impression on the game as he strips the ball off Braam Steyn, who was so impressive in the defeat by Wales. O'Mahony was in attendance to help the centre, but Ireland can't counter as the ball is thrown loosely into touch.
3 mins: Hayward has a nice early run and it takes a good tackle to stop him on an angle. However, Italy flanker Mbemba goes off his feet to seal the ruck and referee Glenn Jackson spots it immediately, awarding the penalty to the Irish. However, after Sexton found touch in the Italy half, the ball is immediately knocked on and the first chance to attack goes as quickly as it came about.
5 mins: It's an emphatic start in the scrum from the Irish pack as Kilcoyne draws the penalty out of Ferrari, and Sexton finds touch six metres out from the try line.
6 mins: Oh no. Cronin has waited an eternity for his Six Nations first start, and he completely fluffs his lines on the lineout to miss his jumper. Tebaldi cleans up and feeds the ball to Padovani, who thumps a big kick down-field and finds touch in the Irish half.
8 mins: Ireland can't get anything going here as Jackson again penalises them in the driving maul, but from the next catch and drive they do a good job of getting hands on the ball and force the turnover, much to their delight.
12 mins: Ireland have no problems getting the ball into the Italian 22, but credit to the home side, their defence is proving fairly sturdy when they get there. Sexton has his first snipe before Stockdale comes in search of ball and makes in-roads towards the 5m line...TRY FOR IRELAND!
12 mins: Farrell makes a nice break through the middle and comes within inches of touching down between the posts. Rather then selfishly go for glory, he recycles the ball and Murray goes left to feed Quinn Roux, who powers over on his shoulder. Sexton adds the extras and Ireland lead. 0-7
Ireland are forced into a change though as Bundee Aki goes off for an HIA, with Andrew Conway on in his place.
15 mins: Ireland win yet another penalty as they run the ball out of their own 22, but again Cronin's lineout misfires as he's picked off by Dean Budd. Italy, needing the ball, kick possession away and they're not working anything at the moment. Earls then breaks down the right and hacks on for Conway to chase, but Hayward does well to get back, touch the ball down for the 22 and take a quick drop-kick to find touch on halfway.
17 mins: Italy win their first penalty of the day as O'Brien is caught offside when Earls knocks on a loose pass from Sexton, and Allan will have a long-range shot at goal from about 43m out.
19 mins: O'Brien is penalised for not releasing as he tries to turn over Steyn, and Italy attack. They make good progress through Ghiraldini, and Tebaldi tries to catch Ireland napping by sniping through a gap. He's hauled down just short of the line, but when he gets back up to go for the line it's deemed a double movement. We'll come back for the penalty though, and Allan successfully kicks it to cut the lead. 3-7
21 mins: It's a cardinal sin from Italy. Budd goes up to claim the restart but Ferrari doesn't give him the support he needs and it floats over his head. The ball is loose and gets knocked on straight into the hands of Jacob Stockdale, who gallops over unopposed to score the second try of the match. Sexton can't convert. 3-12
Confirmation is through that Aki won't be returning.
