Italy vs England – Report – Six Nations Championship 2024 – 3 Feb, 2024،
England recovered from a poor start and a 17-8 deficit to beat Italy 27-24 in their Six Nations opener in Rome on Saturday, ending a run of four defeats successive in the first round of the championship.
Italy led 17-14 at half-time and a late try earned them a losing bonus point in their most competitive performance of the Six Nations against England – the only team they have never beaten in the competition.
England have been slow to find their rhythm and will be concerned by defensive errors, but coach Steve Borthwick will be pleased with the performances of five debutants, including man of the match back-rower Ethan Roots.
“It's quite surreal. Words can't describe it, it's special,” said New Zealand-born Roots.
“Steve just said bring your difference and introduce it into the team. Of course you will be nervous when you debut, we know Italians are passionate and they never go away, but Fortunately, we come away with victory.
“I think we stayed in the fight, but all credit to the Italians, they stayed in it and it was a great match.”
England's new team was just 12 out of 23 losers in the World Cup semi-final against South Africa, and they looked disorganized from the start, particularly defensively.
Italy, with new coach Gonzalo Quesada promising a more pragmatic approach after a disastrous World Cup, on the other hand showed consistency and precision from the start.
Tommaso Allan gave them the lead with a penalty before Lorenzo Cannone sent Alessandro Garbisi over for the first try, albeit via what England saw as a forward pass.
England hit back when Tommy Freeman, showing the dashing run that earned him an international recall, broke through and offloaded for Elliot Daly to score.
Italy reacted immediately, as the English defense threw themselves into a desperate confusion to give Allan all the space he needed to gallop under the posts.
Two George Ford penalties reduced the gap to 17-14 at half-time, somewhat flattering for England.
The favorites finally took the lead five minutes into the second half when scrum-half Alex Mitchell showed great determination by making two tackles and landing.
Another penalty from Ford increased the lead as Italy struggled to gain a foothold against England's aggressive blitz defence.
When they had the chance to close the gap after an hour, Allan missed his penalty attempt.
England sent two more debutants, fly-half Fin Smith and flanker Chandler Cunningham-South, and when winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso made it five, it was the most since Stuart Lancaster's debut at the head in the opening match of the 2012 Six Nations.
England won an 80th-minute penalty that they could have turned around for a 30-17 victory, but they opted for a scrum and were penalized, allowing Italy to score a lineout and send Monty Loane on the wing thanks to some soft tackles. earning Italy's losing bonus point.
England host Wales next Saturday and Italy face the daunting prospect of a trip to Dublin to face championship favorites Ireland, who beat France 38-17 in Paris on Friday.
