Key occasions
Half-time: Italy 10-12 England
Not certain what to make of that. It wasn’t a traditional. But I believe the rating is a good reflection of the match. England have been higher – significantly better – than earlier weeks. Better kicks, higher chases, higher on the level of contact. Ben Earl has been magnificent. Italy have been stodgy however for one excellent line break from Menoncello. Still within the stability. Both groups with extra to supply.
TRY! Italy 10-12 England (Roebuck, 40+1)
What an finish to the half! Italy will likely be kicking themselves. They had the scrum and opted to run it out after successful the ball on the again. But Zuiliani was turned over and England got here roaring again down the precise with Roebuck. England stored hammering the road and inched upfield. With our bodies knackered and clustered gained the left, Smith regarded up and noticed Roebuck by himself on the precise. The kick was good, the catch, collect and step was higher. And with the conversion England take the lead.
40 min: Itoje is lifted excessive and pinches a line-out on midway. Pepper runs it again into site visitors. Spencer lifts a excessive kick however Underhill spilled it. Italy could have the scrum feed. If they will keep away from making a gift of a penalty they’ll shut out the half with a 5 level lead.
38 min: England lose their toes after constructing properly and provides away a penalty. In that play Earl – for the millionth time this season – made floor after contact. Brex stood up nicely on defence. So did Ferrari and Garbisi who mixed to win the penalty.
37 min: England with an opportunity to strike again as they drive Italy to throw from inside their very own 22. But they lose their heads and provides away a smooth free kick fro drifting too near the Italian line. P Garbisi kicks down city.
TRY! Italy 10-5 England (Menoncello, 35)
England’s midfield lower in half! Outstanding line from my decide as the perfect midfielder on this planet proper now. Italy stored hammering the road off a line-out and made some floor down the left win with Ioane after which Lynagh. They recycled and a brief move again towards the grain discovered the imperious Menoncello who placed on the afterburners and sprinted away from the chasing England gamers from about 30 metres out. Great end and the extras off the tee open up a 5 level lead.
32 min: Underhill’s wonky ears are bleeding, so that provides us an opportunity to learn some views from a few of you:
“What a difference between this game and Sco v Fra. Like the change between top flight and second league in any sport”, says Philip H.
Stephen Vallely concurs: “OMG Daniel. This is dire beyond belief. England seem to have the knack of dragging every team down to their level of boring!
30 min: A scrappy line-out and messy ball gives P Garbisi no platform to kick. As a result, the clearance lands right on Roebuck who runs it back and makes good ground. England hit the ruck at speed and suddenly bodies are free down the left. Atkinson kicks instead of keep it through the hands and it goes out. Italy win the line-out but England are back on the ball after another nothing hoof from the home team.
28 min: Quesada is waving his arms about in the coach’s box. Not sure what he’s upset about but his team needs to pull their socks up. They’re back in their own half with a line-out feed. This score reflects the nature of the game, I’d say.
TRY! Italy 3-5 England (Freeman, 26)
Quality from England! It started off the line-out from the scrum penalty. It went over the top and Earl was charging upfield. From there they had all the momentum and when Smith changed direction to move it from right to left, they had Freeman hovering down the left tram all on his own. The final pass was delivered by big Coles, who couldn’t have flung that any better.
Smith misses the extras.
25 min: Another scrum penalty for England! That was against the feed. A few things aren’t working, but Genge and Hayes are at least doing their bit.
23 min: Loose from England off that scrum. Atkinson and Smith got in a tangle with the former running a line for the latter on the loop. But the pass was poor and Smith knocked-on. That won’t fill English fans with a lot of confidence.
22 min: After gathering the restrt, Italy launch a high kick that Ioane chases, but he spills. Scrum to England on halfway all the way to their right.
Penalty! Italy 3-0 England (P Garbisi, 21)
First blood to the Italians! A gimme penalty is nudged over.
20 min: England take the line-out but it’s stripped. And that placed a whole lot of England players off-side. A strange little passage ends with an Italy penalty inside England’s 22. I must confess, I’m not entirely sure what happened.
20 min: Italy enjoy their best few minutes. They didn’t go anywhere, really, but they looked more assured on the ball. Ioane involved again. Cannone too. It ends with P Garbisi raking a grubber from centre field out to touch on England’s 22. Jamie George looks in trobule. Second time he’s need a look at his shoulder.
18 min: Earl makes great groubd after contact off a line-out but the ball is turned over. That transition offers Ital;y a chance to launch down the right and Ioane has it and chips ahead. It’s a bit too long and Freeman sweeps round to clean up inside the try area. But Italy have the ball after the restart and are inching their way back to England’s 22. But Itoje is there, down low to steal a turnover.
16 min: England win the scrum battle and get the penalty. They roar in celebration. Genge was immense there. Smith hoofs the ball out beyond halfway. Much better from England.
15 min: Italy knock on after some enterprising play. Brex and Menoncello involved. The latter attempted a raking grubber from the centre of the park as he aimed for the right corner. It was charged down but he was quickest on the looping loose ball. He then attempted an offload for Lynagh on his right shoulder but it was spilled. So England have the scrum feed between halfway and their own 22 on their left. Italy will want to put pressure on this. Genge in a prolonged chat with the ref.
13 min: Cannone charges Smith’s kick, causing a moment of panic in the England ranks. They manage to mop up the loose ball and clear. We’ll have an Italian line-out just inside their half. They win it before A Garbisi box kicks. England knock on and Italy launch an attack down the left with Ioane on the ball.
12 min: Genge needs a patch up as he gets ready to pack down on a scrum. He’s bleeding from his head but he’s ready to go. England’s feed on halfway close to their right touch. But Italy get the freekick. Not sure why England couldn’t get organised. Garbisi lifts a high kick that is well held by Roebuck just beyond his 22. Spencer returns the favour and England win the ball back. They’ve retained four box kicks already.
10 min: P Garbisi hoofs an awful kick straight to Freeman who canters down the right wing. He’s up to the 22 and offloads brilliantly to Atkinson. But he’s isolated and is swamped by three retreating Italians who win the penalty seven metres from their own line. Now Italy, off the line-out, are marching forward on halfway with one of the Cannone brothers on the ball.
9 min: Will England regret not taking the three points? The line-out is spilled by Coles and Lamaro wriggles his body amidst the morass of the forming maul and forces the turnover. But England are back on the ball building between Italy’s 22 and halfway. A Garbisi makes a good shot on Pepper, knocking him out of touch with the help of Lynagh on England’s left wing.
7 min: Very good from England and they win the penalty at the floor as Italy don’t roll away. Good continuity, the move started with Genge on the angle and ended with Itoje off-loading for the onrushing Earl. Smith has things moving at great speed. England look very sharp. The penalty is nudged to the corner…
6 min: Lynagh shoots up but Daly slips him. The England fullback then puts in a grubber to the corner to give Murley a chase. It’s slightly overcooked, but this is positive stuff from England.
5 min: Spencer snipes down the blind on the right and dinks a kick to the corner. It bobbles just a little further away from where he wanted it to stop and Italy will have the line-out in their own 22. They win it, but are put under immediate pressure. A raking box kick finds touch beyond their 22.
3 min: England string nine phases together. They inch their way forward until they kick but gather it back on Italy’s 22. A cross-field kick goes from left to right and Italy knock-on. That means England have the scrum feed just beyond the 22. Sharp and accurate kicking from England early. The chasers have been swift as well.
2 min: George hits his jumper from England’s first line-out, but Italy have it back soon after and kick on Daly who runs it back.
Kick-off!
Righto, anthems done, the fireworks have been set off, the smoke has cleared and away we go!
Ben Earl walks out onto the pitch by himself on the occasion of his 50th Test.
Rome looks delicious! The only stadium in the competition I’ve yet to visit.
Loads of England fans in attendance. A lack of support won’t be an excuse for them.
Does regular contributor Guy Hornsby speak for all England fans?
“I am not full of confidence today, Daniel. We are coming to this in semi-disarray, falling apart off the back of our 12 match run, now a distant memory. Against a team on the up full of excellent players, there are so many big battles, no more so than their centre partnership. You feel Brex and Menoncello v Atkinson and Freeman could decide it. Atkinson is a huge talent but what a way to come back into the team. Freeman is arguably one of our best players, but a work in progress at 13. If their defence falters, we could get torn open. You feel the battle up front will go a long way to deciding it, but make no mistake: on form, Italy winning will be no shock. England have a mountain to climb. A gritty win today will be just fine with many England fans.”
Update on England’s workforce
With Tom Curry injuring himself through the warm-up, Sam Underhill will begin.
Chandler Cunningham-South strikes to the bench.
That modifications the complexity of England’s second half. Underhill gained’t really feel like a serious departure from Curry however Cunningham-South is a distinct form of athlete. Along with Ollie Chessum England’s bench now seems to be fairly hefty. Curious to see if that makes a distinction.
England: 15 Elliot Daly; 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley; 10 Fin Smith, 9 Ben Spencer; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Alex Coles, 6 Guy Pepper, 7 Sam Underhill , 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Jack Van Poortvliet, 23 Marcus Smith
The crows have been circling, the wolves have been howling, the omens have been, nicely, ominous.
Here’s some studying as we construct up:
Michael Aylwin wonders if that is Italy’s greatest probability:
Ugo Monye says that England’s secret weapon ain’t so secret anymore:
Robert Kitson argues that contemporary faces might make the distinction:
And Gerard Meagher heard from Jamie George:
Underhill slots into the beginning workforce.
Now a query of who strikes onto the bench.
Tom Curry limps off earlier than kick-off!
The temper has darkened forward of the opening whistle as Tom Curry hobbles off with an damage throughout warm-up.
Sam Underhill will begin. Chandler Cunningham-South will transfer to the bench.
We’ve had our first correspondenc and it’s from Paul Moody who’s in Brazil.
“[I’ve got] mixed feelings as a London born fella. Had hopes for England , but they have met reality hard. Still hope excitement,
Canoa quebrada, ceara”
England workforce
Steve Borthwick has made 9 modifications to his workforce, greater than some other England coach within the Six Nations.
Tommy Freeman is the one backline participant to maintain his place within the beginning workforce however he’s been shifted to exterior centre, becoming a member of Seb Atkinson who has been tasked with offering punch in midfield.
Elliot Daly begins at fullback with Fin Smith changing George Ford – who misses out solely – at fly-half. Ben Spencer replaces the injured Alex Mitchell at scrum-half.
The again row nonetheless seems to be gentle with Ben Earl and Tom Curry joined by Guy Pepper. Henry Pollock strikes again to his normal spot on the bench.
Ollie Chessum’s on the wooden too, alongside Sam Underhill and Marcus Smith.
England: 15 Elliot Daly; 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley; 10 Fin Smith, 9 Ben Spencer; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Alex Coles, 6 Guy Pepper, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Jack Van Poortvliet, 23 Marcus Smith
Italy workforce
Juan Ignacio Brex returns to the midfield to proceed his union with Tommaso Menoncello.
Alessandro Garbisi begins at scrum-half to companion his brother, Paolo, in. the half-backs.
Ange Cappuozzo is out of the match-day 23 with Tommaso Allan beginning ont he bench and. Lorenzo Pani returning to fullback.
For the fourth recreation in a row, Italy’s beginning pack stays the identical.
Italy: 15 Lorenzo Pani; 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane; 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Garbisi; 1 Danilo Fischetti, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 3 Simone Ferrari, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 6 Michele Lamaro, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 8 Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Tommaso Allan
Scotland have simply put 50 on France!
Unreal. Of course which means nothing for our recreation right here, nevertheless it underlines how bonkers this yr’s Six Nations has been.
Anything might occur.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
From October 1991 till kick-off this afternoon, matches between England and Italy have been a forgone conclusion.
The two nations have met 32 instances and England have triumphed whenever. The common rating is round 40 factors to 13. There have been drubbings of 67-7 in 1999, 80-23 in 2001 and 57-14 in 2019. Things have been tighter lately, and the last match in Rome ended with a three point margin, however the story has adopted a predictable plot for 35 years.
That might change at the moment.
England are on the ropes after heavy losses to Scotland and Ireland. Steve Borthwick has made sweeping modifications to his workforce, greater than some other England coach in Six Nations historical past. His gamers have regarded disjointed, out of kinds and wanting confidence.
Italy in the meantime have continued to impress. They fought onerous to beat Scotland in a downpour and have been the one aspect within the first three rounds to offer one thing resembling a problem to the French. They have arguably the perfect centre pair within the recreation, have astute operators within the halfbacks and now possess a pack that may combine it in heavy site visitors.
England ought to nonetheless win. I’d be shocked in the event that they don’t. Then once more I wouldn’t be completely shocked in the event that they fall to a 3rd loss on the bounce. Not merely due to their very own spluttering type however as a result of their hosts have by no means been in a greater place to lastly full the set within the Six Nations.
That’s quite a lot of phrases to confess I don’t know which means that is going. If you’ve acquired any clue please drop me an electronic mail. I’d love some assist untangling this conundrum.
Kick-off at 4:40 pm GMT, 5:40 pm in Rome.
Teams and different updates to comply with.
