Ian Keatley happy to kick on in Italy

Ian Keatley was grateful to have escaped the cruel grip that Covid-19 has placed on his adopted hometown in northern Italy but the former Munster fly-half will not hesitate to return to Treviso and help rebuild the local economy when it is safe to do so.

Keatley, who turned 33 on Wednesday, is still in his first season with Benetton having joined from Munster via a loan spell at London Irish last summer after 180 appearances and 1,247 points for the province. He joined an Italian team with fellow Dubliner Ian McKinley already on the books and a competitor for the number-10 jersey but that rivalry is on hold for now as the two men adjust to life in contrasting forms of lockdown. While McKinley remains in Treviso, holed up with wife Cordelia and their dog Mela in a fourth-floor apartment, Keatley was lucky enough to have flown back to Ireland when Benetton played their last game before the suspension of the Guinness PRO14 season at Rodney Parade in south Wales on March 6.