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| Italy: (5) 5 |
| Try: Colts |
| England: (10) 34 |
| Attempts: Youngs 2, George, Curry, Slade Feathers: Farrell Cons: Farrell 3 |
England put themselves in a prime position to win the Six Nations with a painstaking bonus point win against Italy.
Ben Youngs, celebrating his 100th international game, scored the opening try, before Kyle Sinckler’s fumble gave Jake Polledri a chance to strike back.
England came out with renewed intensity after the break and Youngs capitalized with his second marker.
Then the visitors found their rhythm, with Jamie George, Tom Curry and Henry Slade from 50 crossover games.
England will have to wait until France-Ireland is completed to find out if they have won a first Six Nations title since 2017.
Ireland will be crowned champions if they win with one bonus point or by more than six points in Paris, while France can claim the title with a bonus point victory and a margin of victory of more than 31.
England stutters in a strange first half
As with so many sports in recent months, there was a strange air around the Stadio Olimpico as Ben Youngs rushed out to celebrate his 100th international match in front of eerily empty stands, before the players sang the anthems spaced throughout. the touch line.
It had been seven months since Eddie Jones’s team last played a match and just under a year since their defeat in the World Cup final, but England fans were quickly reassured by the familiar sight of their team. inflicting a try on Italy in the first five minutes.
Owen Farrell dived through a gap in the Italian defense and found Youngs on the inside to give the centurion a proper opening attempt, which the captain successfully converted.
More comfort came when an Italian offense at halftime gave England a penalty and Farrell opted to take three easy points off the posts.
But then things turned upside down. Carlo Canna claimed a fumble from Sinckler and found Gloucester’s Jake Polledri, number eight running clear to splash into the corner.
Momentum stayed with Italy, as Jonny Hill’s debut in England was marred by a trip to the trash for a high entry at wing Edoardo Padovani.
England repeatedly opted to kick rather than run the ball, but this only seemed to work in Italy’s favor as they threatened to score from a corner lineout before Hill returned to help win a scrum penalty for their team.
It looked like the visitors were going to enter the locker room with their heads held high, but an opportunity to score a try was ended when Polledri entered his maul from the side, leading to a yellow card for number eight.
England renewed ahead after half-time
England came out looking much sharper in the second half and were rewarded almost immediately by Youngs’ attempt.
The scrum half sent a false pass from the base of a ruck and took a step around prop Danilo Fischetti, running through the gap and across the try line.
It was Maro Itoje who led the charge in the second half and, after Wasps side Matteo Minozzi left the field with a bleeding nose after colliding heads with Jonny May, the block claimed the ball in a line-out to prepare George’s try. a mallet.
England had three of the four attempts needed for the bonus point that is crucial to their title hopes, but their momentum stalled momentarily.
Right after Gloucester wing Ollie Thorley came in for his debut, wing Curry took on the role of scrum-half with Youngs on the court at the breakdown.
The forward grabbed the ball from the base of the ruck to run down the blind side touchline and score, but Farrell missed the conversion and a two-point opportunity that could still prove crucial in England’s title fight.
The England captain, who was playing in his first game since September due to a high inning ban, redeemed himself when Ben Earl chased after him, who twisted on the floor and lifted the ball for Slade to score.
However, he missed a second conversion and the opportunity to put more pressure on the scoreboard on Ireland and France, leaving England with a nervous wait ahead.
Man of the match: Ben Youngs
‘We knew we would get there in the end’ – what they said
England’s man of the match, Youngs: “We always thought it was going to be a tough process.” We got a little excited in the first half, we camped in our own line for a long time. We couldn’t get out at all and maybe with that yellow card [for Jonny Hill], we couldn’t get rid of it.
“But whatever it is, we knew that if we stood firm we would get there in the end and that was the most important thing we did.”
ALIGNMENTS
Italy: Minozzi; Padovani, Morisi, Canna, Bellini; Garbisi, Violi; Fischetti, Bigi (capt), Zilocchi, Lazzaroni, Cannone, Negri, Steyn, Polledri.
Replacements: Lucchesi, Ferrari, Ceccarelli, Sisi, Meyer, Mbanda, Palazzani, Mori.
England: Furbank; Watson, Joseph, Slade, May; Farrell (capt), Youngs; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Hill, Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.
Replacements: Dunn, Genge, Stuart, Ewels, Earl, Robson, Lawrence, Thorley.
Referee: Pascal Gauzere
