England delivered a performance of ruthless efficiency and forward power to overwhelm Italy 31-14 on Sunday for a five-try bonus-point victory that got their Six Nations campaign back on track after last week’s defeat by Scotland.
The hosts might not have matched the sparkling rugby seen in Saturday’s two matches but Italy could not live with their pack strength, particularly a seemingly unstoppable rolling maul, following coach Steve Borthwick’s promise to get back to basics.
Having won only one of their last six games at Twickenham, the home fans were not about to start complaining about style, though Borthwick’s decision to mix up his midfield looked a good one as man of the match Ollie Lawrence brought much-needed pace and intensity to the inside centre channel.
First-half tries for Jack Willis, Ollie Chessum and Jamie George put England 19-0 up at halftime. A penalty try earned the bonus point and though Italy crossed twice in a more evenly-balanced second half, England finished strongly with a crowd-pleasing finish by exciting replacement winger Henry Arundell.
Their 30th win in 30 meetings with Italy continued England’s stranglehold on the fixture and maintained their position as the only team never to have lost to the Italians since they joined the competition in 2000.
