No. | Name | |
---|---|---|
15Luke McLean, - | ||
14Leonardo Sarto, - | ||
13Michele Campagnaro, - | ||
12Gonzalo Garcia, - | ||
11Mattia Bellini, - | ||
10Carlo Canna, - 3 | ||
9Edoardo Gori, - | ||
1Andrea Lovotti, - | ||
2Ornel Gega, - | ||
3Lorenzo Cittadini, - | ||
4George Biagi, - | ||
5Marco Fuser, - | ||
6Francesco Minto, - | ||
7Alessandro Zanni, - | ||
8Sergio Parisse, - | ||
Replacements | ||
16Davide Giazzon, - | ||
17Matteo Zanusso, - | ||
18Martin Castrogiovanni, - | ||
19Valerio Bernabo, - | ||
20Braam Steyn, - | ||
21Guglielmo Palazzani, - | ||
22Edoardo Padovani, - | ||
23Andrea Pratichetti, - |
*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold
Match Commentary
England ended up giving Italy the 'good hiding' that Eddie Jones called for but it was not all plain sailing. The first-half was at times lacklustre and England looked void of inspiration and lacked intensity but the introduction of Danny Care gave them a new spark in the backline and Jonathan Joseph's hat-trick signalled a welcome return to form for the outside centre. Maro Itoje and Paul Hill made their England debuts and this will be seen as another step forward for Jones' team and they are yet to concede a try in this year's Six Nations. Italy will lament an unfortunate batch of first-half injuries and will point to poor handling at key moments which let them down.
The TMO has a look and advises "penalty to Italy". No yellow card though, and Haskell can count himself lucky.
George Ford's 24th minute try separates the two sides at half-time and this is no easy ride for England. Italy have been hamstrung by three first-half injuries and they have had time on the ball and chances to punish England but their tendency to favour the blindside sees them run out of pitch and allows England to close them down. For England, Billy Vunipola has impressed while the Ford-Owen Farrell axis is working better than last week. That proved key in getting England over the whitewash but you sense they still have a few gears left in them.
On another note, there's a picture doing the rounds of what looks like a little dust-up between Dan Cole and Andrea Lovotti. Referee Jackson had his back turned... One for the citing commissioner, perhaps.
England arrive in Rome in a bid to continue Eddie Jones' winning start as head coach. Italy are no pushovers, as they proved last week in their narrow defeat to France, but history favours the visitors, who have won all 21 meetings between the two sides.
Italy: McLean, Sarto, Campagnaro, Garcia, Bellini, Canna, Gori, Lovotti, Gega, Cittadini, Biagi, Fuser, Minto, Zanni, Parisse (captain)
Replacements: Giazzon, Zanusso, Castrogiovanni, Bernabo, Steyn, Palazzani, Padovani, Pratichetti
England: Brown, Watson, Joseph, Farrell, Nowell, Ford, Youngs; M Vunipola, Hartley (captain), Cole, Lawes, Kruis, Robshaw, Haskell, B Vunipola
Replacements: George, Marler, Hill, Itoje, Launchbury, Clifford, Care, Goode
For all the gossip and views from the Stadio Olimpico, follow our man on the ground Tom Hamilton @tomESPNscrum. For some pre-kick off reading, cast your eyes over our preview ahead of today's game.