England experienced a historic first loss to Italy, suffering a 23-18 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico, which raises the concerning possibility of achieving their lowest finish in the Six Nations.
After establishing an 18-10 advantage through tries from Tommy Freeman and Tom Roebuck, along with the contributions of Fin Smith’s kicking, England’s lead diminished in the third quarter as Paolo Garbisi shifted momentum by successfully converting two penalties.
Italy capitalized on the sin-binning of Sam Underhill and Maro Itoje to deliver a crucial blow, with Leonardo Marin scoring a thrilling try along the left touchline.
The Azzurri displayed their decisive edge when it mattered most, leading to England’s third consecutive defeat, which heightens the scrutiny surrounding Steve Borthwick’s leadership.
This marked the first defeat in 32 encounters with Italy, a rivalry that began in 1992, and should England falter against France in Paris on Saturday, they will conclude the Six Nations with only one victory for the first time.
Scotland and France kicked off the day with a 13-try spectacle at Murrayfield, while in Rome, the match was a tense battle from the outset.
England had to regroup after losing Tom Curry to injury during the warm-up, managing to make several incursions into the home 22 and winning aerial duels, with Cadan Murley playing a key role.
However, in a recurring issue, they failed to score points, as their decision to forgo a kickable penalty in favor of a line-out attack backfired.
A series of errors, including at the breakdown and scrum, allowed Italy to gain field position, and as the first quarter concluded, they opened the scoring with a Garbisi penalty.
Smith faced a charge-down and dropped a pass, but he calmed his nerves by setting up a try for Freeman, which was created in Northampton with Alex Coles also contributing.
This was a well-executed score by England that finally yielded points from an attack, but in the 34th minute, they were breached by Tommaso Menoncello, with Underhill and Joe Heyes unable to stop him as he burst through a gap.
Error-prone England continued to hinder themselves, but with some uncertainty creeping into Italy’s performance, they remained competitive, with Ben Earl and Roebuck playing significant roles.
The home defense showed vulnerabilities at times, and just before halftime, Smith executed a precise crossfield kick to the right wing, where Roebuck caught and finished by cutting inside.
The conversion and two penalties pushed England ahead 18-10, and with Giacomo Nicotera sent to the sin-bin, the visitors’ prospects appeared brighter.
However, Underhill received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle, and Garbisi converted two penalties, followed by another setback when Itoje was sin-binned for illegally knocking the ball away at a maul.
With Itoje still off the pitch, Italy crafted an impressive try down the left, with Leonardo Marin scoring after Menoncello had surged through the England defense, sealing the fate for Borthwick’s team.
