‘Sometimes you need to blow the lid off’: England confident of Rome response

Maro Itoje said England have ‘addressed some of the issues’ before Saturday’s Six Nations match against Italy. Photograph: Fabio Frustaci/EPA

England have “blown the lid off” in order to complete their Italian job and salvage their Six Nations campaign with Maro Itoje promising an emotional response to back-to-back defeats.

Steve Borthwick’s side are out of contention for the Six Nations title for another year after dismal defeats by Scotland and Ireland but have won all 32 previous meetings with Italy and spent the championship’s fallow week ensuring they avoid a slice of unwanted history in Rome on Saturday.