Italy fear Ireland World Cup onslaught

Italy coach Jacques Brunel admitted his team had again failed to deliver after squeaking to a 23-18 victory against Canada and predicted a hammering against Ireland if this performance was repeated next weekend.

The Azzurri fell behind to a buccaneering DTH van der Merwe try but went into the break 13-10 to the good after a Michele Rizzo try and eight points from the boot of Tommaso Allan.