Afternoon all. So, we've reached the second round of
Six Nations encounters and here we have
England vs.
Italy at Twickenham. The bookmakers are certainly expecting a routine win, with some offering odds of 1/100. But will it be so easy? Stay with
Sports Mole to find out.
First of all, let's take a look at the two sides, starting with the home team...
ENGLAND XV: 15-Mike Brown, 14-Anthony Watson, 13-
Jonathan Joseph, 12-Luther Burrell, 11-Jonny May, 10-George Ford, 9-
Ben Youngs; 8-
Billy Vunipola, 7-Chris Robshaw (captain), 6-James Haskell, 5-George Kruis, 4-Dave Attwood, 3-Dan Cole, 2-Dylan Hartley, 1-Joe Marler
ENGLAND REPLACEMENTS: 16-Tom Youngs, 17-Mako Vunipola, 18-Kieran Brookes, 19-Tom Croft, 20-
Nick Easter, 21-Richard Wigglesworth, 22-
Danny Cipriani, 23-Billy Twelvetrees
So, it's no great surprise that
Stuart Lancaster has stuck with the same side that defeated Wales last time out. For centre Jonathan Joseph and lock George Kruis, this is their first ever starts at Twickenham. Lancaster had hoped that he would be able to call upon Geoff Parling as a replacement, but the Leicester lock has not been able to shake off a knee complaint.
And now for how the visitors will start this encounter...
ITALY XV: 15-Luke McLean, 14-Leonardo Sarto, 13-Luca Morisi, 12-Andrea Masi, 11-Giovanbattista Venditti, 10-Kelly Haimona, 9-Edoardo Gori; 8-Sergio Parisse, 7-Francesco Minto, 6-Mauro Bergamasco, 5-Marco Bortolami, 4-George Biagi, 3-Martin Castrogiovanni, 2-Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1-Alberto De Marchi
ITALY REPLACEMENTS: 16-Andrea Manici, 17-Matias Aguero, 18-Dario Chistolini, 19-Joshua Furno, 20-Samuela Vunisa, 21-Guglielmo Palazzani, 22-Tommaso Allan, 23-Giulio Bisegni
Unlike England, there have been changes in the Italy ranks. There's four to be precise, with Mauro Bergamasco and Marco Bortolam returning to the pack. Prop Alberto De Marchi is also included, while Giovanbattista Venditti starts at left wing. It means that Luke McLean has gone to full-back and Andrea Masi moves to inside centre.
Right, let's take a look at what Lancaster has had to say in the days leading up to this game, shall we?
"It's always good to be able to name an unchanged team and to build some consistency. We did the same last year after France heading into the Scotland game," he told England's official website.
"Italy are going to be fired up. They always are when they come to Twickenham, especially after last week's loss to Ireland. We know what's coming at us but we have prepared well and are looking forward to getting back home to our fantastic supporters."
As for his opposite number - Jacques Brunel - he offered up: "We have worked very hard so far this week to keep the same level of intensity in defence and to improve our game by keeping possession more often."
"We felt frustrated after the Ireland game because, as things stand, we cannot know if we would have been able to put the Irish team under pressure if we had kept possession for longer.
"We managed to maintain possession of the ball too briefly and we wasted a lot of balls, putting our defence under massive pressure. Now England await us - a team that likes to play a different game plan compared to Ireland, but it always a tough challenge for us."
Before we get underway, here's some input from former England international Jermey Guscott over on
BBC Sport:
"England's performance last week was so good the expectation has gone through the roof. The tough one for the players is to get their mental preparation right. They've got to forget about next week, as good as it was."
And a final word from Lancaster: "It's been a good week. We've trained well. It's very much about getting feet back on the ground. I haven't set a target in terms of points, our target is to win the game. I don't think it's going to be a high scoring first half by any stretch."
Right, the players are in the tunnel and will be making their way out very shortly. Not long now until we are off and running at Twickenham. There's a great atmosphere inside the stadium!
KICKOFF! Anthems done and Italy get us underway.
TRY! ENGLAND 0-5 ITALY (PARISSE) Well, that didn't take long. Everyone was expecting England to start on the front foot, but it's Italy that take a shock early lead! The visitors kept the ball for four phases and all of a sudden skipper Sergio Parisse bursts through a challenge and goes over. Kelly Haimona goes close with the conversion, but not close enough.
Talking to BBC Sport, here is former England hooker Brian Moore: "It's a deserved try. It was a great run by Luca Morisi, making a lot of ground. Mike Brown made a choice to go on his outside and probably made the wrong one. England were too narrow."
The crowd are somewhat stunned by what they've seen, but the England fans are at least starting to find their voice. Moments ago Attwood turned over an Italian maul, which brought about a big cheer.
We've got a bit of stoppage in play at the moment as Brown and Masi receive treatment following a clash of heads. That looked nasty!
ENGLAND SUB: That's game over for Brown, who leaves the pitch on a stretcher. Hopefully that's not too serious. Billy Twelvetrees replaces him.
Paul Grayson, the former England fly-half, is not a fan of that substitution. Talking to
BBC Sport, he said: "Before the game, one thing I couldn't figure out is what they would do if Mike Brown went off.
"I would have put Danny Cipriani straight at full-back. He has played there before and the entire back line would stay the same. He hasn't played full-back this year for Sale but you keep five players in their positions. What will England learn about Billy Twelvetrees and Luther Burrell they they didn't already know?"
PENALTY! ENGLAND 3-5 ITALY (FORD) At last England get on the board. Youngs wins the penalty and Ford is never going to miss from bang in the centre.
TRY! ENGLAND 8-3 ITALY (VUNIPOLA) It needs the video referee, but England have their first try of the afternoon. It's close, but the man upstairs says that it's legitimate. As he's so wide, Ford is unable to convert the extras.
TRY! ENGLAND 15-5 ITALY (JOSEPH) Fantastic stuff from Joseph on what is his full Twickenham debut as an England international. He ghosts beyond Kelly Haimona and Leonardo Sarto, before going over between the posts. He's in good form, that's for sure. Ford makes no mistakes with the conversion and now England lead by 10.
A questionable offside decision is given against England's James Haskell, but Haimona is unable to make the most of a decent penalty opportunity.
Close for England as Youngs makes a break down the left flank. His pass into May is accurate, but he's hauled down and its an England knock-on.
HALF-TIME: ENGLAND 15-5 ITALY
MATCH ACTION: Here's a shot of Joseph racing clear to score England's second try of the contest.
© Getty Images
Well, that was a rather bitty first-half showing from England. There was of course a couple of bright moments - particularly that Joseph try - but it was a slow start with a couple of defensive errors. There were occasions when the defence looked at sixes and sevens. The injury to Brown didn't help and forced a reshuffle, but they did earn the half strongly.
To be fair to Italy, they were positive, especially during the opening exchanges. A bit more luck and they might have added another try before England had actually got off the mark. It does appear that they are tiring, though, with some sloppy penalties being conceded. The danger there is that they go down to 14 men, which could see England run away with the encounter.
The performance of try-scorer Joseph has impressed Guscott, who told
BBC Sport:
"Jonathan Joseph has just carried on from last week. Once he's in the space, he's going away from players and it's just a well-taken try. He's playing with confidence and any opportunity Jonathan Joseph is taking it. You cannot beat pace."
RESTART! England's number 10 Ford boots the ball forward and gets us back underway at Twickenham. The crowd is rather quiet at the moment - it seems like they are waiting to be lifted.
PENALTY! ENGLAND 18-5 ITALY (FORD) It's been a bright start to the second half by England, who have extended their lead by a further three points. An Italian infringement leaves Ford with a simple central penalty, from which he makes no mistake.
TRY! ENGLAND 18-10 ITALY (MORISI) The visitors are not going down without a fight! It's a fine individual run from Morisi, who leaves several England players trailing in his wake and he crosses the line. Unfortunately for Italy, Haimona is wide once again with the conversion as the two spare points go begging,.
ENGLAND SUB: A change for England as Attwood comes off to be replaced by Easter at lock.
TRY! ENGLAND 25-10 ITALY (YOUNGS) That was far too easy for Youngs as England open up a 15-point margin. The scrum-half takes a quick tap-penalty and before any of the Italian side can react, he's diving over the line. The visiting coaching staff are not going to be happy with that. The conversion is easily sent between the posts by Ford.
PENALTY! ENGLAND 28-10 ITALY (FORD) The Red Rose are starting to run away with this match. Ford is on top form today as he sends enough penalty between the uprights.
TRY! ENGLAND 35-10 ITALY (JOSEPH) Well, Joseph is certainly doing his chances of claiming a World Cup spot no harm whatsoever. The number 13 once again shows great pace to break through the Italian line to score his second try of the contest. Predictably, Ford's conversion is good. That was the last involvement for Ford, who is replaced by Danny Cipriani for his first Six Nations appearance since 2008.
TRY! ENGLAND 42-10 ITALY (CIPRIANI) That's some introduction by the England fly-half! He dances through to score a try within 60 seconds of coming on to the field. He then keeps his composure to kick between the posts as England's lead is extended to 32 points.
TRY! ENGLAND 47-10 ITALY (EASTER) That's a much better charge from England, which is spearheaded by Easter. He protects the ball well against a tiring Italian defence and is able to bundle the ball over the line under a host of bodies. From a narrow angle, Cipriani fires the conversion wide.
TRY! ENGLAND 47-17 ITALY (MORISI) Italy deserve that as Morisi is able to squeeze in a try before he is bundled over the touchline. Allan makes the conversion as well, leaving the away side 30 points adrift.
FULL TIME: ENGLAND 47-17 ITALY
There goes the final whistle and it's England that deservedly claim the victory against a spirited Italy side at Twickenham. It's two wins from two for Lancaster's men and leaves them in a good position to win a first Six Nations title since 2011.
And that is all we have time for from Twickenham. Thanks very much for joining us this afternoon and until next time, goodbye.
