It almost felt like a loss, admits Kilcoyne; O'Mahony believes 'we're not far off'

Simon Lewis Ireland may have collected five points following a 26-16 bonus-point victory over Italy, but the post-match dressing room described by Dave Kilcoyne spoke of a disappointment akin to defeat.

Ireland may have collected five points following a 26-16 bonus-point victory over Italy, but the post-match dressing room described by Dave Kilcoyne spoke of a disappointment akin to defeat.

As much as Italy played well for periods of yesterday’s game at Stadio Olimpico, Ireland played their part in making this Guinness Six Nations contest closer than it has been for six years and loosehead prop Kilcoyne said the performance was “not good enough from our part. We didn’t get the cohesive performance we were looking for, but we’ll hope to address that next week.”