“Today was another step” - England finally display attacking endeavour but positive intent needs to stay
Marcus Smith came on after eight minutes and played his part in England's attacking intent
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After one-point victories over France and Scotland respectively, England provided further proof that they are heading in the right direction with a 47-24 victory and a full five points against Italy.
England’s attack has been under the microscope for many weeks but Sunday’s seven-try win over their Azzurri opponents leaves them in the race for the Six Nations title.
So how much did we learn about England as they dismantled Italy in the Twickenham sunshine?
Attacking promise
From the opening phases of possession, England showed the attacking intent many have been begging for with clearer accuracy and precision than previously seen of late.
Tom Willis’ opening try was exactly the start the men in white needed and it set the tone for the first 52 minutes of this contest.
Steve Bortwick’s men were playing with purpose, recording an impressive 360 post-contact metres off 144 ball carries and 10 line breaks. Compare these numbers with those against Scotland - which were 158 metres off 78 carries and two line breaks - there was just more cohesion about England at HQ.
Every try was well worked, in particular Ollie Sleigtholme’s second, which saw the England forwards turn into the ‘Harlem Globetrotters’ with offloads of pure beauty.
“I think the team are always trying to play the way we talk about,” Steve Borthwick explained.
“This is an England team that’s on a journey and evolving, and I think today was another step.”
It was certainly another step, but for this tournament, it was the penultimate one. With one more game against a rejuvenated Welsh side to come, England’s attack will need to fire once again in Cardiff next Saturday if they are to secure the victory which puts a bit of pressure on title favourites France.
Early disruption and Lawrence a doubt for Lions tour
Things started brilliantly for England - following Willis’ try - but disaster then struck when Ollie Lawrence dropped to the ground untouched in the eighth minute.
“Ollie Lawrence is an Achilles injury,” Borthwick explained. “We’ll know more in the next 48 hours when he’s had a scan and seen a specialist. Fingers crossed, it’s not as severe as we fear it might be.
“It looks like it could be a really tough injury, but I am hesitant to say exactly without any detailed assessment of it in terms of the scans.”
England were forced into changes that certainly weren’t in the game plan, at least not so early on, with Marcus Smith coming on at full-back whilst Elliot Daly moved into the centres.
Smith being dropped to the bench was one of the major talking points in the build-up to Sunday but the Harlequins playmaker once again highlighted what he can bring to this England side - and perhaps the British and Irish Lions - with key contributions and a tidy try at the start of the second period.
And whilst Smith and Daly did impress after the reshuffle, the concern for teammate Lawrence was evident.
“Obviously, you play in a game, and you want to win and all this stuff, but I think there’s a sort of deeper level to it, and when you see one of your best mates potentially losing the chance to go on a Lions tour and what was bound to be a massive year for him, it breaks your heart,” fly-half Fin Smith said at full time about Lawrence’s injury.
“I think I was probably a bit too gutted on the pitch seeing that happen, and it maybe rattled me for a few minutes. I probably made a few mistakes off the back of it. We’re all absolutely devastated for him.”
As Smith explained, it took some adjusting, but eventually, England got their attack firing, much to the enjoyment of their head coach.
“It was tough, especially with that early injury to one of our main strike carriers, one of the guys who brings power to our backline,” Borthwick said.
“So that caused a major disruption, and the players adapted to it really well.”
A comfortable result
It seemed strange, sitting at Allianz Stadium, witnessing England comfortably see out a game.
Other than the Japan match in the autumn [which England won 59-14], every game for England of late has seemingly gone down to the wire, but Sunday afternoon felt almost routine.
Whilst Italy did their best to challenge and were just four points behind at the break, it was a second half to be proud of from Borthwick’s men, who scored 14 points in the first 10 minutes after the interval.
“Obviously, consistency is one of the biggest things, and we are lacking a little bit of that,” Italian captain Michele Lamaro explained.
Head Coach Gonzalo Quesada added: “We cannot act like that at this level against these kinds of teams. You give them that little block of 10 minutes, and you don’t come back.”
After Marcus Smith and Sleightholme had given England some clear daylight at the beginning of the second half, the hosts were largely untroubled by the Azzurri and for once, it wasn’t a nail-biting conclusion at Twickenham.
Jamie George - The super centurion
Perhaps no member of this current England squad has deserved to join the illustrious group of Test match centurions more than England hooker Jamie George.
George has been a stalwart of this England side for a decade and captained the team through the difficult Autumn Nations Series. He was met with rapturous applause from the Twickenham crowd when Luke Cowan-Dickie replaced him.
He had a reliably strong game, remaining 100 per cent at the set-piece with his darts and in the scrum, and provided a beautiful offload to assist Sleightholme’s second try. George was well deserving of the plaudits and the result come full-time.
“Jamie is an incredible rugby player,” captain and club teammate Maro Itoje added.
“He brings leadership, calmness and toughness. As a hooker, he's one of the most intelligent rugby players that I've ever played with.
“I think my career has been richer as a result of playing with and working alongside him.
“Jamie pulls the group together. He's an ultimate people person, and all he wants is the best for the team and he’s still got loads more left in the tank”
They couldn't...could they?
It’s been a funny old tournament for England. After a poor autumn and a disappointing opening round in Dublin, somehow, there is a possibility of a first Six Nations title in five years.
The victory over Italy secured a crucial full five points for England, and with France gliding past Ireland on Saturday, it all means Steve Borthwick’s men are actually in the title conversation.
Mathematically speaking, on ‘Super Saturday’, England could either win the tournament for the first time since 2020 or finish as low as fourth.
To swoop in and claim the Six Nations crown, they’ll be relying on Scotland to do them a favour.
Gregor Townsend’s troops need to deny France a victory in Paris but the crucial thing for England is to get another bonus-point win against Wales.
Whilst this Wales side are on a run of 16 straight Test defeats, there is no denying they have made improvements since interim head coach Matt Sherratt took the reins.
And, of course, there is a history of Wales denying England the title at the Principality. 2013 springs to mind and there’s perhaps no better motivation for Wales to end their losing streak than by beating England at home.
“Wales, Cardiff, the Principality, it’s a tough place to go,” Itoje said.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play there numerous times, and it's a challenge that we're very much looking forward to.”
Borthwick added: “We’ve got to go down to Cardiff next weekend and put in a performance and get the result we want, and that’s what we will concentrate on this week.”
England are 10/1 to snatch the Six Nations title away from overwhelming favourites France but never say never on ‘Super Saturday…’
