'This group is growing' - Greg McWilliams staying positive after defeat to Italy

Ireland head coach Greg McWilliams says his side have to match their execution to their effort, after they fell to a third successive defeat in the TikTok Six Nations.

His side were left to rue a struggling lineout in a 24-7 defeat to Italy, in a game in which they dominated both territory and possession.

The Irish attack struggled to make an impact against an organised Italian defence, who seemed content to allow Ireland have the ball and wait for their opportunities.

In three games so far Ireland have scored just 15 points, with today's score coming courtesy of a penalty try.

And the head coach says his side need to become more clinical.

"It's disappointing, the players put in a big effort this week, and I thought we saw some good endeavour," McWilliams said.

"At critical stages, we have to work on our execution, and that's something that we'll own. Our performance has got to continuously improve, and I just feel sorry for the players at the moment. We'll dust ourselves off, you don't get a big time in this competition to think too much about it, you just have to get ready and move forward.

"We'll review the footage like we always do and we'll go again next week."

And while it's yet another defeat for his side, McWilliams is adamant that they're continuing to make improvements.

"Our defensive system was better there, we saw improvements. It's just a continuous progression, in a short space of time we're looking to improve as much as we can.

"I can't fault the effort of the players, they've been outstanding. We'll look at what we have to do to get better, we need to continuously get better, and that's what we ask of our player. I'm very proud of them, and coming away from home, losing, I know how they feel.

"They feel upset, they