England vs Italy

And it's national anthem time. I am a big fan of the Italian one - almost operatic in nature and, I imagine, great to sing along to.

Farrell was authoritative and defended well and England kicked noticeably better than they did against Scotland, although the clearly predetermined strategy to kick in behind was frustrating. And in that respect, this was a step forward. The former was a deserved recipient of the Man of the Match award. And the fact that it took 70 minutes for an England back to get on the scoresheet – England’s wunderkind Henry Arundell crossing in the corner from fellow replacement Alex Mitchell’s pass. But the match was long since over by then and England’s shape had gone with it. He conceded England’s ruck speed could have been better but defended England’s style overall, pointing out that Italy had “the quickest ruck speed of any team in the Six Nations last weekend... His return, after the horrendous knee injury he suffered in this fixture two years ago, and the collapse of his club Wasps, is a major plus for England. A couple of bone-crunching hits could be heard from up in the stands. The 81,609 present would have been even more delighted had a superb try from Jack van Poortvliet stood – the one real moment of England magic, conjured by Max Malins, who dummied, broke upfield, and then passed brilliantly inside to the England scrum half. But in the broader arc, it was a positive step. Up front, Jack Willis made a sensational return to the starting lineup, scoring a try and racking up 20 tackles and a turnover in his 52 minutes on the field. The more generous appraisal – and surely the correct one?

Minute-by-minute updates: Can England get their Six Nations campaign up and running against Italy? Join Lee Calvert.

However, this forgets not only the history of results, but also the nature of them, because no matter how poor England look (and they didn’t look that poor last week, let’s be honest) they always batter Italy. A symbol of our times is the dubious social media phenomenon “DHOTYA” - the Didn’t Happen Of The Year Awards, where nominations are taken for events shared on Twitter and the like that people doubt have occurred. Chessum’s next contribution is to be in the way when Varney tries to get the ball at the ruck and Italy will have an early penalty to kick to touch. The Italian lineout secures the ball on the England 22, but their ruck is not very secure and this allows Itoje to counter-ruck and force Italy to seal off the ball. Italy did a horrible job of defending that maul, and have been under the boot in their own have for the whole match thus far. The zip and shape from the France game is nowhere to be seen so far, and to make it worse it looks like Lamaro is injured after he was (legally) crunched by Itoje. Eventually, Jack Willis holds up a runner with a choke tackle and England clear the ball. England’s ninth lineout of the match is pulled into a maul on the Italy 22. Italy have some possession around halfway, and settle into the lateral patterns that are line spoon-feeding England midfield defensive rush. In the wake of the tackle, there was a knock-on by Steward, do Italy will have to play out from a scrum. England look disorganised by get back in shape sharpish to frustrate the visitors. Italy win the lineout, but the imprecision is creeping back in as the ball goes to ground as they look to spread it wide.

Updates from Sundays Round 2 Six Nations 2023 clash as Steve Borthwicks England host Italy at Twickenham; on Saturday, Ireland won a thrilling clash with ...

Steve Borthwick's side aim to bounce back in the Six Nations after defeat to Scotland last week.

Lawrence gets his revenge, perhaps off his feet initially but nonetheless rewarded with the ball after jackaling. Something to build on for England, never quite putting Italy to the sword but emerging as reasonably conclusive bonus point victors. Worries for Italy - both replacement back rows are forced off. Now Capuozzo finds a gap! It wasn’t necessarily pretty from Steve Borthwick’s side: three of their five tries came from lineout drives, and another from forward pick and goes immediately after a yellow card, but the basics were good, which gives them a sound foundation. You could feel the crackles of anticipation among the home supporters every time Henry Arundell touched the ball this afternoon. Hang on - Polledri is returning! First-half tries for Jack Willis, Ollie Chessum and Jamie George put England 19-0 up at halftime. A much-needed win for England - a result to build a bit of confidence ahead of a trip to Cardiff in the middle week of the tournament. Six Nations 2023: England 31-14 Italy - Ollie Lawrence reacts to win Jack Willis was at the heart of a bonus-point win in the Guinness Six Nations at Twickenham England dismantled a disappointing Italy to give the

Steve Borthwick's side aim to bounce back in the Six Nations after defeat to Scotland last week.

England and Italy do battle in the second round of the 2023 Six Nations, with both sides looking to bounce back from home defeats on the opening weekend.

- Italy are rank outsiders with the bookmakers, with both Sky Bet and BetMGM having them at 7/1. As expected, England are the heavily-backed favourites to get their first win of the 2023 Six Nations at Twickenham, with the highest odds at 1/12 from Sky Bet. Ange Capuozzo at the back scored an exceptional try in the left-hand corner to close out the first half, and is joined in the back three by Edoardo Padovani, the scorer of Italy's momentous winner against Wales last March. Simone Ferrari drops to the bench, with Marco Riccioni coming into the starting front row. Brace-scoring winger Max Malins keeps his place on the right edge, as does Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left, who had a quiet but solid debut against Scotland. The pair started at fly-half and inside centre respectively against Scotland, continuing their combination which previous coach Eddie Jones was so desperate to see bear fruit, but for this game, captain Farrell is supported by a new-look centre partnership of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade. He replaces Pierre Bruno on the right wing, while at fly-half, Tommaso Allan continues in place of the injured Paolo Garbisi, having kicked 12 points from the tee against France. With England still very much in the early days of Borthwick's tenure, and Italy a dangerous outfit, this game could be a potential banana skin for England. Full-back Ange Capuozzo finished acrobatically in the corner, before a penalty try and 12 kicked points from Tommaso Allan gave them an unlikely lead. The Borthwick era got off to a losing start as Duhan van der Merwe scored a superb late winner to secure Scotland a second consecutive victory at Twickenham. France were reeling, but a late try from Matthieu Jalibert wrestled the game back into their hands.

England player ratings: This is not a game that will live long in the memory, and considering the fireworks in Dublin and Edinburgh...

[Alex Mitchell](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/alex-mitchell/) on 60 minutes – could be used as ammunition against van Poortvleit. On for Sinckler on 50 minutes. Bustling when he entered the scene, making seven tackles and 10 metres with ball in hand. Along with Dan Cole was responsible for Allessandro Fusco’s try when the two big replacement props left a large enough hole for the Italian scrum half. He lacks the dynamism of some of England’s absent loose forwards but is a safe pair of hands when the pack is on the front foot. Scored one try from a rolling maul and was at the back of another that ended with a penalty try. One of the best in the world. A dream scenario for a scrum half as he kept the ball spinning with his forwards dominating it up front. Carried just twice for 17 metres over 55 minutes. His left boot gave a greater semblance of balance to the midfield. When he did he made a mess of it and was disrupted by the much shorter But Steve Borthwick has his first win as England coach and with it he’s answered a few questions.

Plus: latest team news as England drop Marcus Smith, and the referee who will take charge at Twickenham.

A thumping of Samoa, followed by a statement victory over the Wallabies and an almighty scare of the French, kindles hope that they will not flatter to deceive once more. Capuozzo, fresh from a try of dazzling opportunism in the five-point loss to France, is relishing the chance of a repeat. Despite the poor record you still get the sense that England (players and fans) expect to beat the visitors today. But they have really shown their worth in the last few matches. Borthwick illustrated he wouldn’t be shy at wielding the axe with his first squad - Jack Nowell, Anthony Watson, Manu Tuilagi and and Billy Vunipola all dropped - but it is with this move that he can really contrast himself from the Jones era. Such is the perennial high standards of an England fan that Borthwick's men are expected to beat Italy today. There are always articles about whether they should be replaced in the Six Nations by Georgia. The two wins in Australia aside, you could argue that they've beaten no one of note since 2021, which brings us to today's clash against Italy. For obvious reasons nearly all the focus regards the changes made in the England midfield has been on Smith being dropped and Farrell starting at 10 for the first time in two years. But the combination of Lawrence and Slade in the centre is well worth examination. Borthwick conceded that inside centre has been a tricky position for England, yet pointed out that youngsters are coming through. But he's in the starting XV today and as Charlie Morgan writes:

How every England player rated out of 10 at Twickenham as Steve Borthwick's side earned their first Six Nations win. LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 12: Jack ...

7/10 Makes a perfect impact player alongside Mitchell and Smith et al to see out games. - Henry Arundell – He’s the golden boy, of course he had to score. 8/10 His midfield partner Henry Slade was also a big factor in England’s improved performance. It may be slightly too early to rain epithets upon Borthwick, but England looked totally unlike the side who disappointed supporters last year.