Jacques Brunel criticised Italy's display against Canada despite the Azzurri battling to a 23-18 victory at Elland Road on Saturday.

Despite their favourites tag for the Pool D clash, Italy struggled to contain an attack-minded Canada side and were grateful to errors from the minnows to deny them further chances.

Michele Rizzo and Gonzalo Garcia scored the crucial tries for Italy, while the trusty boot of Tommaso Allan added a further 13 to guide Brunel's side to their first win of the tournament.

However, the coach was not happy with what he saw and knows they must do better if they are to beat Ireland in their next match.

"I'm not happy with how we set up the match," he said. "The Canadians, particularly on the wing, played really well but we never had really good ball, and they dominated.  

"They dictated the game.

"If someone can look forward into the future, then that is not me. But if we play the same as we did today then we will go 30 points down against Ireland, we know that."