Deflated Ireland scrapes past Italy 22-17 in Rome and remains third in the Six Nations

ROME (AP) — Ireland overcame Italy by a scrappy 22-17 at the Stadio Olimpico and finished the last day of the Six Nations where it started, in third place.

Ireland had slim hopes of an historic third consecutive title, and the unconvincing bonus-point win in Rome was overtaken as expected within hours by England, which finished second, and France, the new champion.

A week after Ireland was hammered by France in Dublin and lost control of its destiny, it briefly regained the tournament lead with a fourth win in five matches. But the Triple Crown holder suffered a French hangover trying to force too much against an Italy determined to show its best side after conceding 18 tries to France and England.

“There's a little bit of disappointment that we didn't play at our best,” Ireland interim coach Simon Easterby said.

"Credit to Italy, they had a part to play in that. We coughed up too much possession and didn't make the most of some opportunities. We could have broken the back a little bit but we allowed them to stay in the game. The scoreline reflected it was tighter than it should have been.”

The Irish scored four tries to two and enjoyed 30-plus minutes with a man advantage but a clunky, deflated performance gave Italy hope of an upset.

Italy frequently found holes in the Irish defense but three yellow cards — one of them turning into a 20-minute red — undid all of its impressive work.

The highlight of Ireland's display was hooker Dan Sheehan's first test hat trick of tries, extending his men's Six Nations record for a forward to 13. Fullback Hugo Keenan could have had a hat trick, too, but one was ruled out and another wasn't given.

Italy should have led at halftime.

Winger Monty Ioane finished a try brilliantly engineered by Tommaso Menoncello and Paolo Garbisi, and Tommaso Allan converted and added a penalty.

Ireland replied with only a Keenan try assisted by flyhalf Jack Crowley, who converted.

Italy lost injured forwards Sebastian Negri, Lorenzo Cannone and Dino Lamb in the first 30 minutes but the team created four linebreaks to Ireland's one.

Then in the 39th minute replacement flanker Michele Lamaro, the long-time Italy captain who was dropped for the match, was yellow-carded for needlessly tapping the ball out of the hands of Jamison Gibson-Park.

Ireland used the penalty and extra man for a lineout maul and Sheehan's first try to go into the break 12-10 up, then 17-10 afterward when Sheehan scored from another lineout maul.

Just as Lamaro returned, with two tries conceded in his absence, teammate Ross Vintcent was yellow-carded for a head-on collision with Keenan. It was later upgraded to red.

Keenan should have had the next try, assisted by Crowley again, but it was chalked off because of a knock-on by captain Caelan Doris.

Sheehan got his third try when Gibson-Park's crossfield kick to a leaping Mack Hansen over the sideline was slapped inside to the hooker.

But while Ireland led 22-10 and Crowley was playing well in his first start since November, he missed a third straight conversion, two of them badly.

The missed goalkicks and bombed tries looked costly when Italy's Ange Capuozzo beautifully set up a try for Stephen Varney and Allan converted from the sideline. Italy trailed by five, never having been this close to Ireland in 11 years.

Sheehan left in the 70th to a standing ovation from the Irish fans, estimated to be more than 20,000.

Keenan went over again, late, but James Lowe was ruled to have stepped on the touchline, even though replays showed he didn't.

Italy's final fling unraveled when replacement hooker Giacomo Nicotera was sin-binned for a dangerous ruck clearout, confirming the team's 16th straight defeat to the Irish.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Ireland's Dan Sheehan, center, is tackled by Italy's Gianmarco lucchesi, left, and Manuel Zuliani during the Six Nations rugby match between Italy and Ireland, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Players compete for the ball during the Six Nations rugby match between Italy and Ireland, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Italy's Tommaso Menoncello, bottom, with his teammate following the Six Nations rugby match between Italy and Ireland, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Ireland's players celebrates following the Six Nations rugby match between Italy and Ireland, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Ireland's James Lowe, jumps over Italy's Ange Capuozzo during the Six Nations rugby match between Italy and Ireland, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Ireland's Hugo Keenan, left, score a try as Italy's Martin Page-Relo tries to defend during the Six Nations rugby match between Italy and Ireland, at Rome's Olympic Stadium, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

TOKYO (AP) — A moderate earthquake rattled eastern Japan, including the Tokyo area, early Sunday, injuring more than 30 people, most of them lightly, officials said. There was no danger of a tsunami.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 and its epicenter was in the southern Ibaraki prefecture with a depth of 70 kilometers (42 miles). The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude of 5.8.

At least 37 people were injured in five prefectures in the region — 15 in Tokyo, nine in Saitama, eight in Kanagawa, four in Chiba and one in Ibaraki — according to prefectural officials and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Most of the injured were hurt when they fell down or hit themselves against furniture or doors as they were caught off guard by the quake while sleeping and got out of bed in a panic, officials said. Among them was a woman in her 80s who fell off the bed and suffered a serious hip injury in Yokohama, in the Kanagawa prefecture, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

A 23-year-old man told the Asahi newspaper that he felt a vertical jolt seconds after his earthquake alert went off when he was shopping in Tokyo's eastern district of Taito. He said he feared getting hit by merchandise that fell from shelves as the building shook.

The quake caused delays to express trains serving Tokyo and Narita Airport and other local trains serving northeastern regions, but Shinkansen bullet trains were running normally, their operator East Japan Raiway Co. said.

The government set up a task force to assess the extent of possible damage, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on X.

The Japan Meteorological Agency urged the residents in the area to use caution against another possible moderate earthquake for about a week.

The temblor set off emergency quake alerts on mobile phones and also significantly shook Tokyo. NHK public television showed traffic on roads in nearby cities, including Mito and Saitama, seemingly normal.

An underground water pipe ruptured in Tokyo’s eastern ward of Koto, with water pouring onto the road, NHK footage showed. The pipe has been repaired and the leak stopped.

There were no reports of anomalies from about a dozen nuclear power plants and other facilities that handle nuclear materials, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said.

Last month, a magnitude 7.1 quake struck the Kumamoto area on Japan's southernmost island of Kyushu, killing 38 people and injuring 364.

First responders from the Tokyo Fire Department stand on a street partially flooded in the early hours of Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, following the rupture of a water pipe after an earthquake that struck the area and neighboring prefectures. (Kazuki Kozaki/Kyodo News via AP)