Italy vs England LIVE: Six Nations rugby final score, result and reaction from Rome today
Follow latest updates from Rome as Eddie Jones’ side win their first game of the 2022 tournament
England showed the ruthless streak demanded by Eddie Jones as they atoned for their shattering collapse against Scotland by outclassing Italy 33-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.
Jones had urged his team to “light up Rome” and in response they delivered a five-try rout orchestrated by man of the match Marcus Smith to inflict a 34th successive Championship defeat on the Azzurri.
England had stormed 21-0 ahead by half-time and Smith was at the heart of many of their best moments, but he truly shone when firing a superb missed pass to provide Elliot Daly with a simple try in the 45th minute.
And unlike at Murrayfield a week earlier when he was replaced in the 63rd minute to widespread puzzlement, there was no sign of George Ford arriving off the bench until late on and this time Joe Marchant made way.
Ben Youngs eventually joined him at half-back to equal Jason Leonard’s record as England’s most capped player on 114 appearances, with the round-three visit of Wales to Twickenham the likely setting for him to surpass the milestone. Follow the latest reaction from Rome:
Six Nations 2022: Italy vs England: Confirmed line-ups
Italy
15. Edoardo Padovani 14. Federico Mori 13 . Juan Ignacio Brex 12. Marco Zanon 11. Montanna Ioane 10. Paolo Garbisi 9. Stephen Varney 1. Danilo Fischetti 2. Gianmarco Lucchesi 3. Pietro Ceccarelli 4. Niccolo Cannone 5. Federico Ruzza 6. Braam Steyn 7. Michele Lamaro 8. Toa Halafihi
Replacements: 16. Epalahame Faiva 17. Cherif Traore 18. Tiziano Pasquali 19. David Sisi 20. Sebastian Negri 21. Giovanni Pettinelli 22. Alessandro Fusco 23. Leonardo Marin
England
15. Freddie Steward 14. Max Malins 13. Joe Marchant 12. Henry Slade 11. Jack Nowell 10. Marcus Smith 9. Harry Randall 1. Ellis Genge 2. Jamie George 3. Will Stuart 4. Charlie Ewels 5. Nick Isiekwe 6. Maro Itoje 7. Tom Curry 8. Alex Dombrandt
Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie 17. Joe Marler 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Ollie Chessum 20. Sam Simmonds 21. Ben Youngs 22. George Ford 23. Elliot Daly
Eddie Jones details what he wants from his ‘new England’ against Italy in Rome
Eddie Jones is determined for his “new England” project to take a step forward by showing their ruthless streak at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
England are aiming to bounce back from their 20-17 defeat to Scotland which, even at this early stage of the Guinness Six Nations has left them on the fringe of the title picture.
Italy are expected to slump to a 34th consecutive defeat in the Championship and Jones wants young stars such as Marcus Smith, Alex Dombrandt and Harry Randall to continue evolving the gameplan.
Eddie Jones details what he wants from his ‘new England’ against Italy in Rome
England are aiming to bounce back from their 20-17 defeat to Scotland
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments