Italy captain Sergio Parisse has warned his side that they must improve on their defeat to Ireland if they are going to compete with England at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Azzurri fell to a 26-3 defeat to the championship favourites, but must now face an England side who will be full of confidence after they beat Wales on Friday night.
Parisse told reporters: "Next week we must have more of the ball if we want to be competitive at Twickenham. To have just 30%? That's not good enough. I don't think Ireland put us under huge pressure but they were better in the line-out and had the ball most of the time.
"We have to be defensive without sacrificing our attacking qualities. It's true that we have been focusing a lot on defence, but we need to find a better balance."
Italy are yet to beat England after 20 attempts.
Written by
Charlie Bennett
Charlie Bennett
