As the early spring sun beat down on Twickenham, England did what was required against Italy to keep their name in the mix for the Six Nations title ahead of the final weekend of the championship. It was a match which ebbed and flowed, and England found a way to stay ahead of Italy, outscoring them seven tries to three and taking an comprehensive 47-24 victory.
It was by no means a classic. England got the job done, but the win came at a cost, with Ollie Lawrence stretchered off in the first half with an Achilles injury.
But the bonus point win, and their points difference of +20 means England have an outside chance of winning the title next weekend. But they’ll need a favour from Scotland in Paris, and a bonus point win over Wales to boot. It’s unlikely, but not impossible, and given they started the tournament with a conclusive defeat to Ireland, this has to be marked down as a championship where England have showed character, resilience and made gradual progress.
The pre-match headlines around England’s team selection focused on Steve Borthwick’s decision to drop Marcus Smith and Henry Slade. Elliot Daly was handed the fullback jersey, while Fraser Dingwall was brought in at inside centre — meaning there were five Northampton Saints backs in England’s line-up.
But after Tom Willis scored after just four minutes, Marcus Smith was soon called into action. Lawrence went down in agony away from action, having injured his Achilles. The sight of him heading off on a stretcher was a desperate shame for him, but also for his club side Bath. We wait on a prognosis to see if this will harm his chances of making the British & Irish Lions squad.
Ollie Chessum was named player of the match, but Borthwick will be delighted with how they manufactured each of their seven tries. Willis’ came off a break from Tommy Freeman, the support of Tom Curry and then Willis’ outstretched arm was enough to score England’s first. Then Freeman grabbed England’s second in the 27th minute as he was there to snaffle up a neatly-judged Daly kick which managed to bypass Italy’s on-rushing defence and gave the Northampton winger the space to dot down.
Sleightholme’s first was a run-in into the corner after Alex Mitchell quick-tapped a penalty, and Marcus Smith brought up the bonus point in the 44th minute. Tom Curry got his in the 47th minute as England found some bite near the tryline and Sleightholme grabbed his second in the 53rd minute off the back of a flurry of offloads. Ben Earl added some gloss on the scoreboard with a try in the 81st minute. Job done.
It was a bruising encounter, but England will take heart from the manner they kept Italy’s exuberance at bay. Italy’s second try was truly brilliant as Monty Ioane’s quick lineout found Ange Capuozzo. He then danced through England’s defence, rounding Jamie George and put away Ross Vintcent who managed to keep his distance from the England stampede behind him. But it was one of the few occasions where they escaped.
Italy scored three tries in all, and England did well to largely keep a lid on the Azzurri’s box of tricks. Italy’s wait for a win over England now stretches to 32 matches.
This was Jamie George’s day, though. He has been one of the greatest servants English rugby has ever had. On his 100th cap, he led the team out with his daughter Lydia. He soaked in the applause for a brief moment, then it was back to the job at hand.
How he’d have loved a try to mark the occasion but it was his offload in the 53rd minute which teed up Sleightholme’s second score. A minute later, George went off to a standing ovation. He has endured a turbulent year both on and off the pitch. He lost his mother, Jane, to cancer last February. He became a dad soon after. And then ahead of this Six Nations, he had his captaincy handed to Maro Itoje.
George has carried himself with immense dignity since, he’s never once let his head drop in public, and has also helped steer England to their wins over France and Scotland with set piece stability. Ever since his first cap back in 2015, he has been unrelenting in his work ethic, and deservedly goes down as an England great. And the best thing? He’s far from done.
England now have a shot at a title which seemed incredibly unlikely back on that opening afternoon in Dublin. But they have got there through sheer bloody-mindedness against France, some impressive defence against Scotland, and then this comprehensive victory. They’ve ridden their luck – France dropped four passes near the line, Scotland missed three kicks at goal – but they’ll care little for that.
On Sunday, Borthwick’s selections paid off. Daly did well at fullback, while Dingwall proved to be an effective addition to the centres. But it’s hard to judge the true success of this selection given Lawrence’s injury and you feel the backline is still yet to quite click. But that’s for another day. Cardiff awaits, as England look to win their fourth match of the championship. Given where they were heading into the Six Nations, battling after a tough run of results, that’s progress.
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Source: espn.com