England claim a first win of Steve Borthwick’s tenure with a pragmatic bonus-point win over Italy in the Six Nations at Twickenham.
| England (19) 31 |
| Tries: Willis, Chessum, George, Penalty, Arundell Cons: Farrell 2 |
| Italy (0) 14 |
| Tries: Riccioni, Fusco Con: Allan 2 |
Jack Willis marked his return to the side with an opening try before Ollie Chessum powered over for the second.
Jamie George added a third from close range but Italy hit back after the break through Marco Riccioni.
A penalty try sealed the bonus and Henry Arundell scored a fifth, while Alessandro Fusco claimed a consolation.
Victory for the hosts lifts them to third in the table, above defending champions France on points difference, while Italy drop down to fifth.
Borthwick’s men travel to Cardiff to face Wales in their next game on 25 February, after next weekend’s break, as the Azzurri host world number one side Ireland earlier on the same day.
Underwhelming England get the job done
After a narrow opening round defeat by Scotland, the task for England was simple: beat perennial Six Nations underperformers Italy and build momentum at the beginning of the Borthwick era.
The overriding objective may have been achieved, but for 70 minutes this was far from a vintage England performance.
Willis was a notable performer, tirelessly hunting anything in a royal blue shirt before being rewarded for his defensive endeavour with the opening try.
The Toulouse back row was the beneficiary as England ran a line-out move off the training paddock and mauled their way over the line.
Ellis Genge showed deft hands to hand the second to Chessum after inviting contact close to the line and popping off the ball to his former Leicester Tigers team-mate to finish.
The line-out ladder has become synonymous with former lock Borthwick and his warm-up contribution with his pack two games into his reign, and the hard work seems to be paying off as George threw in the ball before joining the back of the maul and finishing off the third.
A penalty try followed after the interval as Italy were penalised for their ill-discipline at the breakdown but one of the loudest cheers came when the exciting Arundell was introduced from the bench as Twickenham yearned for more free-flowing rugby.
The wing had few touches but he was on hand to capitalise as fellow replacement Alex Mitchell spotted a gap in the tiring Azzurri defence late and fed him to dart through.
More to follow.
Line-ups
England: Steward; Malins, Slade, Lawrence, Hassell-Collins; Farrell (c), Van Poortvliet; Genge, George, Sinckler; Itoje, Chessum; Ludlam, Willis, Dombrandt.
Replacements: Walker, M Vunipola, Cole, Isiekwe, Earl, Mitchell, M Smith, Arundell.
Italy: Capuozzo; Padovani, Brex, Morisi, Menoncello; Allan, Varney; Fischetti, Nicotera, Riccioni, N Cannone, Ruzza, Negri, Lamaro, L Cannone
Replacements: Bigi, Zani, Ferrari, Iachizzi, Polledri, Zuliani, Fusco, Bruno
Match officials
Referee: James Doleman (Nzl)
Touch judges: Mathieu Raynal (Fra) and Tual Trainini (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)