BOSS Wayne Pivac slammed Wales' handling as "unacceptable" after the Six Nations champions let a shot at another Grand Slam slip through their fingers in Dublin.

It was Ireland that emerged from the clash at the Aviva Stadium with a shot at a clean sweep and the Triple Crown.

The hosts ran in four tries to take the spoils while Wales' error count meant they were second best in territory and possession.

Ireland have a formidable record in Dublin and Pivac, who hopes to bring a slicker attack after succeeding Warren Gatland, said Welsh handling meant they never had a chance of recording a precious away win.

READ MORE: Ireland 24 Wales 14

"For everybody, there's a learning there. We have got to be very accurate in our passing game," said the New Zealander after his first defeat in the hotseat.

"I think we put about eight balls down, we turned the ball over eight times through handling. That's unacceptable at this level of the game. It's something we will need to go away and work on.

"There were just too many turnovers when we were in good positions on the field. You are not able to build that constant pressure which Ireland were able to do when they scored a couple of their tries."

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Wales earned plaudits for their defence against Italy when they prevented the Azzurri from scoring at Principality Stadium.

However, the step up in quality was clear in Dublin with Ireland exposing a narrow Welsh defensive line.

"It certainly wasn't something we'd planned for," said Pivac, who appointed defence coach Byron Hayward as Shaun Edwards' successor.

"If sides do get a bit of go-forward in the middle of the park it makes it very difficult.

"I thought we scrambled well. We showed them the edges a couple of times, which is something we will have to work on.

"You can't bring the line-speed. Individuals may have made the odd error, so it's something we will go away and have a look at and make sure we get right for the next game."

The Pivac era started with a win against the Barbarians in Cardiff and a success against Italy.

The former Scarlets boss now has to respond to defeat for the first time with France heading for Principality Stadium in round three.

"It's an opportunity for us to have a look at our game. We were put under pressure and we will see where we have to work harder to make sure we get those things right for the next match," said the head coach.

"It is a tournament and we've got another three matches to look forward to. We'll be working very hard to get the areas right that we need to so we can put on a better performance next time around.

"So we have to go away and work hard at our game and make sure we are a little bit better in those areas for the French game."

Wing Josh Adams was forced off after a blow to his hip while fly-half Dan Biggar failed a head injury assessment, his third in recent months after being forced off against Australia and Fiji in the World Cup.