England secured the victory in their opening game of the Six Nations this afternoon, although it's fair to say that Steve Borthwick's side were far from convincing during their 27-24 victory over Italy in Rome.
Coming off the back of a semi-final berth at the World Cup, many rugby fans were intrigued to see how a new look English side would fare in this year's championship. They included five uncapped players in their matchday squad for this fixture, and while they will be happy to come away with a win, they did not hit the heights they would have hoped for against the Italians.
Italy were the better side in the opening half of the game, exposing some glaring weaknesses in the England defence. They would score two tries in the first 40 minutes and took a 17-14 lead into the interval.
𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐘! 🔥
Allan goes under the posts for their second try!#ITAvENG | #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/TJZApnYTik— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 3, 2024
However, England would improve quite a bit after the break.
A try from Alex Mitchell in the 45th minute proved to be a key moment, with the away side going on to make sure of the victory via a number of penalties from George Ford.
Perfect start to the second half for England as Alex Mitchell puts them in the lead!#ITAvENG | #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/7ilakRGXvo
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 3, 2024
England were no doubt the better side in the second half, although their failure to score more than a pair of tries is a cause of concern for some.
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Italy actually scored more tries than England in this game, running in three in comparison to their opponent's two. While the English have been more than willing to take the three points on offer since Steve Borthwick took over the team, some feel that their lack of conviction in attack is something they need to drastically improve on.
Speaking on ITV, former England star Ugo Monye said that questions around the team's ruthlessness is one of the reasons why they are still so far behind the top teams in the world such as Ireland.
There was great game management from George Ford in terms of taking the three points. The next area in their evolution is that ruthless edge.
We saw it from Ireland last night, they were outstanding, five tries away from home against France.
To be outscored (in tries) here by Italy was not ideal, but it was a great start to the second half.
England were certainly inconsistent in both attack and defence throughout the game, something that paled in comparison to Ireland's display against France last night.
Jonny Wilkinson said his former side were well off being able to produce that sort of consistency at this point in their development.
Ireland, you see what they bring every week, it's up here. They have that aura, you can see it when they walk into the stadium, you can feel it from 100 metres away.
That's where England have to get to.
We still have a while to wait before we see England and Ireland face off in this year's Six Nations, with the two sides set to play each other at Twickenham on March 9th.
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