Italy thrashed by Ireland after being forced to play for an hour with 13 men

Ireland kept the pressure on unbeaten Six Nations leaders France with a 57-6 thrashing of Italy in a game that descended into farce after the visitors were forced to play most of it with just 13 men.

Ireland were 7-3 up when replacement hooker Hame Faiva, on for the injured Gianmarco Lucchesi, was sent off and because Italy resorted to uncontested scrums, they had to nominate another player to leave the pitch for the final 61 minutes.

With gaps everywhere, the hosts followed up Joey Carbery’s early try with eight more from Jamison Gibson-Park, Peter O’Mahony, Kieran Treadwell, Ryan Baird and two each for debutant Michael Lowry and James Lowe.

Ireland, who trail France by three points after taking a losing bonus point from Paris, need to beat England and Scotland to have a chance of winning the title.

Full match report to follow...