Hugo Keenan desperate to reward travelling green army with a Roman show

FACING FORWARDS: Hugo Keenan poses for a portrait during an Ireland Rugby media conference at IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

The Grand Slam bid is over and title chances are slim but Ireland will look to finish their Guinness Six Nations campaign on a high in Italy on Saturday and Hugo Keenan is determined to give a huge travelling army of Irish supporters full value for money.

The defeat to France on home soil seven days earlier has sent Irish championship ambitions through the floor and changed the outlook for the thousands of fans who had already descended on Rome for St Patrick’s weekend. It will not likely be a celebratory weekend with silverware involved but the Ireland full-back wants to give those who will follow them to Stadio Olimpico on Saturday afternoon something to cheer.