Painful memory of 2013 loss keeping Ireland focused ahead of Italian challenge

Peter O’Mahony captains Ireland for the first time in a Six Nations game on Sunday as he returns to the scene of an infamous defeat at Italy’s Stadio Olimpico.

The Munster skipper and blindside flanker will lead his country in the absence of rested regular captain Rory Best, just as he did last summer when his team won a first Test series in Australia but his arrival in Rome this weekend has brought back a timely reminder of of the consequences when things go wrong.