Tim Batibasaga 
[Photo Credit: Reuters]
Dan Sheehan scored a hat-trick of tries to help Ireland secure a 22-17 victory over Italy in the Six Nations this morning.
Ireland now leads the standings with 19 points after the victory, but they still need Scotland to defeat France and Wales to defeat England in order to win the championship.
Ireland did not have a very good showing. Hugo Keenan’s goal and Sheehan’s three tries gave them the bonus point, but they missed multiple opportunities to end the match.
It was also a memorable game because it was Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray’s final time playing for Ireland.
Italy put up a fierce fight despite playing with just 14 men for the whole of the game because of yellow and red cards. Italy scored tries through Monty Ioane and Stephen Varney, but they were unable to cut the deficit sufficiently to cause an upset.
Italy took the lead early with Ioane’s try from a Garbisi grubber kick, but Ireland responded with Keenan’s try from a scrum. Tommaso Allan’s penalty gave Italy a short-lived lead before Sheehan’s first try put Ireland ahead at halftime.
In the second half, Sheehan added two more tries, the second coming after Italy’s Vincent was sent off for a dangerous tackle. Despite missed conversions from Jack Crowley, Ireland held on, with Varney’s late try bringing Italy closer, but the hosts ran out of time.
The win kept Ireland’s title hopes alive, but their performance will need to improve if they are to defend their championship.
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