The reconstruction of England in Rome began with a victory. This was far from a masterpiece ready for the Pantheon, but nothing here was built in a day.
There were mistakes in defense, but flashes of life in attack. Ethan Roots, Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman were their lead architects, but things are still in the cement-mixing phase.
In their first match of the post-Owen Farrell era, England fought back from 10-0 down to ensure their unbeaten record against Italy remains intact.
Expectations for the England team have been shattered in recent years. They had not won an opening game in the Six Nations since 2019 and the smile on Jamie George’s face at the final whistle reflected that a job had been done.
It wasn’t particularly pretty, but they certainly showed more offensive effort than during last year’s World Cup. Five debutants and 17 points from the trunk of George Ford. Satisfactory but not sensational. Not one for the Roman history books.
Alex Mitchell’s try put England ahead after they trailed Italy in the early stages of the match
Tommaso Allan scored a try, two conversions and a penalty in a dominant first half
The smile on Jamie George’s face at the final whistle reflected the work of brave Italians
When news broke 90 minutes before kick-off that Ellis Genge had been ruled out with a foot injury, there was no alarm among the traveling punters dressed as emperors and foot soldiers. Victory here often feels like an inevitability and anything less would have been a disastrous start to the new era.
Ultimately, a win in the bright and breezy Italian sun was enough to avert any metaphorical storm clouds that seemed to have been hanging over the England team for quite some time. George and Steve Borthwick spoke after the match about how previous England teams had been consumed by fear and kicked the ball away at the first opportunity, and that now is the time for a change in mentality. English rugby needs some positive thinkers and George will lead the way.
On paper there were vulnerabilities in the English ranks. If Italy were ever going to secure their first win in this match, this felt like their chance. A new captain, a new midfield, a new identity.
During the first exchanges things did not go as England wanted. They have brought in a new defense coach in Felix Jones, but their structure was full of holes in the first half. Tacklers flew up individually, disjointedly, losing their width and leaving open spaces for the Italians to exploit.
They conceded three penalties in the opening six minutes, with Tommy Allan kicking the opening points when Maro Itoje was caught offside. Scrumhalf Alex Mitchell kept his free-kicks in play and Italy simply ran the ball back. They were bold and ambitious, with Juan Ignacio Brex teaming up with Lorenzo Cannone to set up Alessandro Garbisi for a long-range opening try.
England relied on their fresh faces to keep them in touch. Roots reached an average of seven meters away from each bruise, while Freeman offered a bit more dynamism in width. Winning clashes and cutting sharp lines, Elliot Daly scored England’s first try of the tournament to close the gap after 20 minutes, contributing to George Ford’s penalty. Freeman provided the assist and it is difficult to see any of England’s returning cavalry displacing him from the number 14 jersey.
“Things are starting to click,” Freeman said. “There are definitely a few things we need to catch up on, but it was a great experience. The more we play together, the better we get to know each other and become more on the same page. In short, we want to win this match. We want to be the champions of Europe…
Even the biggest optimists will struggle to see England beating Ireland on this weekend’s results after Italy carved open their defense in the first half. The hosts were calm and structured, scanning the pitch before launching their next long-range attack.
This time Paolo Garbisi turned around the Brex and tempted the English defenders to bite. At times it was difficult to tell who was leading the defense in the backline – a role Owen Farrell relished – and they left half the pitch empty for Allen to score on the right.
George Ford kicked five penalties and a conversion as England turned it around in Rome
Italy wing Monty Ioane’s late try wasn’t enough to get the home side back in their opener
Fin Smith came on for his England debut, replacing England’s number 10 for the final minutes
Ford kicked two more penalties before half-time and, as usual in this match, England applied more pressure on the scoreboard in the second half. Mitchell provided a quick ruckball, cementing his status as the country’s leading scrum-half. And after Freeman threw a quick lineout to Freddie Steward, England combined for five phases before Mitchell made a slithering run from the ruck to score.
In the second half, England’s collective line speed improved. They forced Italian mistakes and earned their first scrum put-in after 54 minutes. They won a penalty on the set piece, allowing Ford to add three more points. And after England’s number 10 gave his team a ten-point lead in the 67th minute, he made way for debutant Fin Smith.
Chandler Cunningham-South and Manny Feyi-Waboso also joined the action as England began to look to the future. The replacements offer dangerous running threats, but England are still looking for a line breaker in midfield. Steve Borthwick provided positive injury updates on Genge and George Martin, both of whom could feature against Wales next week, but he offered no news on Ollie Lawrence or Manu Tuilagi.
Cunningham-South made a huge defensive tackle in defense but the tourists failed to break away. Daly was bundled off for a trip in the 76th minute, before Monty Ioane scored a long-range try at the death.