“They are better than England.”

Italy captain Sergio Parisse believes Ireland are a “much better” team than England after seeing his Italy side dismantled by the men in green yesterday afternoon.

Ireland put eight tries past the Azzurri in Dublin in a hugely impressive display. England also demolished Italy, putting seven tries past them last week. But Parisse feels Ireland were a much harder team to play against.

Speaking after the game yesterday, Parisse said:

“I think Ireland play much better rugby than England for me.”

“It’s much more difficult to defend against them, for me.”

“For me personally it was far more difficult against Ireland. I like the way they play. For me they play very good rugby; yeah, they are better than England.”

Both England and Ireland are undefeated at this year’s championship so far, with a Six Nations Grand Slam decider on Paddy’s Day a real possibility at this stage.

Only then will we find out who really is the better team.