England bounced back from a poor start and a 17-8 deficit to beat Italy 27-24 in the opening game of the Six Nations in Rome, ending a run of four consecutive opening-game defeats in the Championship.
Italy led 17-14 at halftime and earned a bonus point in Saturday’s match with a late try. They faced England, the most competitive side of the Six Nations, the only team to have never won in the competition.
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England will take a long time to find their groove and there will be concerns about their defensive lapses, but manager Steve Borthwick will use five players, including man of the match back-row Ethan Roots. will be satisfied with the debutant’s performance.
“It’s pretty surreal. I can’t describe it in words. It’s special,” New Zealand-born Roots said.
“Steve has now said that he will bring his difference to the team and bring it to the team. Of course he will be nervous on his debut. “It’s true that Italians are passionate and that they will never go away. I know, but luckily we were able to come out victorious.”
England’s new squad included only 12 of the 23 players who lost to South Africa in the World Cup semi-finals and looked disjointed from the start, especially defensively.
In contrast, Italy, whose new coach Gonzalo Quesada promised a more pragmatic approach after their disastrous World Cup defeat, were united and sharp from the start.
Tommaso Allan took the lead with a penalty before Lorenzo Canone cleared Alessandro Garbisi for the opening try.
England hit back when Tommy Freeman, who was given an international recall, broke through and Elliot Daly scored.
However, Italy quickly hit back as England’s defense fell into a hopeless mess, allowing Allan all the space he needed to sprint under the posts.
Two penalties from George Ford reduced the gap to 17-14 at half-time, a somewhat pleasing result for England.
The favorites finally extended their lead five minutes into the second half when scrum-half Alex Mitchell showed great determination to overcome two tackles and score a touchdown.
Another Ford penalty extended the lead as Italy struggled to gain any foothold in the face of England’s aggressive blitzing defense.
They had a chance to close the gap after an hour, but Allan missed his penalty shot.
England also sent in two debutants in fly-half Finn Smith and flanker Chandler Cunningham-South, and this was the start of the 2012 Six Nations when winger Immanuel Fay-Waboso scored five goals. This was the highest total since Stuart Lancaster took over as manager.
England won a penalty in the 80th minute and could have won 30-17, but they opted for a scrum and were awarded a penalty, allowing Italy to kick the lineout and Australian-born Monty Ioane scored a couple of goals for the side. was allowed to clear. A soft tackle earned Italy a loss bonus point.
England face hosts Wales next Saturday, while Italy face the difficult prospect of playing favorites Ireland, who beat France 38-17 in Paris on Friday, in Dublin.