England vs Italy LIVE: Result and reaction from Six Nations as England seal big win to stay in title hunt
England 47-24 Italy: A superb attacking display from Steve Borthwick’s side kept their title hopes alive heading into the final weekend
England cut loose to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive with a seven-try, 49-24 win over a hapless Italy.
Narrow victories over France and Scotland served as overdue tight successes for Steve Borthwick’s side, though they themselves have conceded that they had been yet to produce their best in this campaign. This, then, felt like a significant step forward as the hosts showed far more attacking ambition, eventually putting Italy to the sword after a helter-skelter first half.
Borthwick had left Marcus Smith on the bench and dropped Henry Slade entirely for the visit of the Azzurri, but were forced into an early backline reshuffle after injury to Ollie Lawrence. Smith’s arrival and a star performance from Elliot Daly, moved to outside centre, opened up England’s attacking game, allowing them to pile up the points as the Azzurri suffered another damaging day. The shipping of 11 tries in Rome against France punctured the optimism that had surrounded Gonzalo Quesada’s squad and this felt like another significant step back.
Re-live all of the actionn from Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in our live blog below:
REPORT: England unlock new attacking dimension to keep Six Nations title hopes alive
Perhaps it will not be a French fait accompli on Super Saturday. England’s Six Nations title hopes remain faint but down the M4 they will accelerate to Cardiff on the final weekend blessed with extra gears, Italy duly dispatched as the hosts unlocked a desired dimension that the paying public have demanded.
Boring, boring England? The criticism that followed the narrowest of wins over Scotland felt fair given the straying from the attacking strategy that Steve Borthwick has hoped to instil but there could be no arguing that the hosts did not show ambition here.
Indeed, particularly in a helter-skelter first half, there were times where England’s reckless abandon threatened to do more harm than good here, before the shackles were finally cast aside as they burst into bright, brilliant colour after the interval.
Read the full report from our Rugby Correspondent Harry Latham-Coyle at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham:
England unlock new attacking dimension to keep Six Nations title hopes alive
Maro Itoje reflects on Jamie George's 100th cap
England skipper Itoje was asked about Jamie George reaching 100 caps for England today.
Itoje said: “Jamie is a fantastic player, an incredible rugby player who brings leadership, calmness and toughness.
“As a hooker, he’s one of the most intelligent players I’ve played with. My career has been richer because of playing alongside Jamie.
“As Steve mentioned earlier, he’s a glue player - he pulls the group together and he’s the ultimate people person.
“He’s still got lots more left in the tank and I’m excited to see how he continues to go.”
Steve Borthwick gives Ollie Lawrence injury update
Borthwick has given an injury update on Ollie Lawrence, who was carted off after just nine minutes. He has also talked about how Elliot Daly did moving into the centres when Lawrence departed and how he combined with Fraser Dingwall.
Borthwick explained: “Ollie Lawrence has an Achilles injury. We’ll know more in the next 48 hours after he has scans but fingers crossed it’s not as severe as it might be or we fear it will be.
“He’ll get the best care and see the best people but it looks like it could be a real tough injury.
“Fraser and Elliot are two of the most intelligent rugby players I’ve worked with. They see space in the front line and in behind.
“I described Fraser in the week as a glue player - he does the unseen work and makes others play well with his presence. I thought he played well today.”
Steve Borthwick discusses England victory and how well they adapted
England head coach Steve Borthwick and captain Maro Itoje have come in for their post-match press conferences.
Borthwick says: “I was really pleased with the players today and the way they adapted to an early disruption with Ollie Lawrence’s injury. against an opponent who are very streetwise and who attack the breakdown.
“I talked about the team playing fast and being aggressive with the ball. The team has developed a long way in that aspect.
“This England team is on a journey, evolving. I thought the backline was good and the way they adapted to the injury well and changed positions. We’re not just building a 15 or a 23, we’re building a squad. There needs to be development of players and we felt today was the right time to make a couple of changes to the team. You can see the way the team is developing, led by Maro.
“All we can do now is go to Cardiff next weekend, put in a performance and get the result we want.”
Jamie George reflects on special day
Jamie George won his 100th cap today and couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate. Here’s what he had to say about the experience.
Speaking to ITV, George said: "We were happy with our intent to get our attacking game going. It wasn’t perfect, by any means, but our intent to move the ball and get bums off seats is what we were trying to do.
"The first half was a bit messy but the first 20 minutes of the second-half is probably the blueprint of how we want to play.
"I said to myself this week I really wanted to enjoy the whole week. It's been really emotional. To be able to walk out with my daughter, who turned one last week, was pretty special.
"The reception I got from the fans, I really felt today. I love playing for England and I will remember that for a very long time."
Italy captain Michele Lamaro reacts to the defeat
“I think it is always difficult against these sort of teams,” the flanker says. “For me, consistency is one of the biggest things. When you show good things, you have to be able to do it repeatedly. At the moment, we are probably lacking a bit of that.
:We conceded a few tries on things we had spoken about during the week. It shows how important it is to prepare for a game where you have to be consistent for 80 minutes, not just 40, or five minutes on, five minutes off. We showed many times that we can do things, but you lose the ball once, twice, a third time, it puts you under pressure. The big learning for us today is to be more consistent.”
England 47-24 Italy
A good day at the office for Steve Borthwick’s side
WATCH: England's second-half tries
England scored four second-half tries in the win. Here they are:
Ollie Chessum praises coaches for England freedom
Second row Ollie Chessum, who was everywhere throughout the 80 minutes, won player of the match and spoke to ITV after the victory.
Chessum said: "We wanted to free ourselves up and put some scores on the board, especially with it being Jamie George's 100th cap.
"We always want to score points but have found that difficult in the last couple of games. The coaches allowed us to be free.
On having their title chances alive heading into final weekend: "We just have to take care of what we can next week, Wales away is always a massive game down there."
FULL-TIME! England 47-24 Italy
And that’s the final action! Seven tries for England and a much better attacking display.
At the start of the second half especially, they were absolutely scintillating and good value for a comfortable win. The bonus-point win they needed to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive.
On to Cardiff, and old rivals Wales, next week
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