Ireland’s Ian Keatley converts a try against Italy.

Ian Keatley converted four penalties on his Six Nations debut to set holders Ireland on the way to a dour 26-3 win over an uninspiring Italy yesterday.

Keatley kicked Ireland into a 12-3 lead to break Italy’s resolve, then Conor Murray and Tommy O’Donnell scored tries after the hosts had hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini sent to the sin bin.

Italy finished with a flourish and Kelly Haimona thought he had scored a try, but it was ruled out because of the faintest of knock-ons by Sergio Parisse amid jeers from the Stadio Olimpico crowd.

Italy, who lost all their Six Nations matches last year, made too many elementary mistakes and never looked capable of repeating their 22-15 win of two years ago.

Ireland suffered a blow before the start when Sean O’Brien, set to make his first international appearance for 15 months after undergoing two shoulder reconstructions, suffered a hamstring injury in the warm-up and was replaced by O’Donnell.

“It was a slog, any time you come to Rome you’re expecting a slog but we knew if we kept chipping away, we’d break them down,” Ireland’s Rob Kearney told the BBC.

Other result: France vs Scotland 15-8.