Head coach Steve Borthwick on Saturday praised the impact of England’s debutants in their tight 27-24 Six Nations victory over Italy, ending a long string of opening day disasters.
England defeated Italy in a close encounter in Rome, with five players making their international debuts for the away team.
Flanker Ethan Roots is one of two new starters alongside center Fraser Dingwall, and Borthwick was pleased with the way the Exeter back-rowers handled their first Test match. Ta.
“I don’t want to identify any individuals because this was a special day for all five of them and it felt like a special day to be a part of this day with them as a coach,” Borthwick told reporters. He told the group.
“But if you look at Ethan Roots in particular, he makes his debut and looks very at home.
“He played 80 minutes and just stared at home.
“He was outstanding,” added the former England captain.
Borthwick is hopeful that prop Ellis Guenge will be able to return for England’s next game against Wales after being withdrawn with a foot injury just hours before kick-off.
“We really hope Ellis will be here next weekend,” Borthwick said, adding that Friday’s scans revealed a recurrence of a problem that had plagued Genge in the past.
– ‘Not satisfied’ –
Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada was disappointed that after building a nine-point lead midway through the first half, the team lost by a narrow margin at the end of the second half.
Quesada made his debut as Italy manager and was proud of his team despite failing to achieve their first home win in the Six Nations since 2013.
“I’m proud of the character our team showed, especially when things got tough,” Quesada said.
“What I liked about it…is that not a single player or staff member was happy with this close loss.
“It’s very important to me,” added the former Argentina fly-half.
Italy now face the difficult task of facing favorites Ireland in Dublin, a team that is good at making mistakes in pressure situations after suffering crushing defeats to New Zealand and France in the last Rugby World Cup. It will be a big test for him.
“I’m tired of being so close to winning and not being able to achieve it,” Italy captain Michele Lamaro said.
“We can’t be satisfied with this. We want to be more dominant, more decisive and more precise to maintain the lead we have built.
“We can’t afford to concede so many goals without scoring like we did in the second half. After the break, we were drawn into their game plan and they just gave us the ball.”
TD/IWD