Match Report – England 31 – 14 Italy

England’s first half performance laid the platform as their Six Nations campaign got up and running

England secured their first Six Nations win of 2023 with a dominant 31-14 victory over Italy at Twickenham to get up and running under head coach Steve Borthwick.

England’s forwards laid the platform as they got off to a strong start in the first half, Jack Willis and Jamie George using the strong driving maul to their advantage as they barrelled over. Ollie Chessum also got his name on the scoresheet from close range as Italy’s Lorenzo Cannone was sent to the sin-bin, giving the home outfit a strong 19-0 lead at the break.

Italy fired straight back at the beginning of the second half through Marco Riccioni but their dominance was short lived, with a penalty try on the 50th minute for England, plus a sin-binning for Simone Ferrari, giving Borthwick’s side the advantage once again.

From there, Italy hit back through some brilliant Alessandro Fusco footwork but a late diving Henry Arundell try in the corner sealed the win for England and kickstarted their Six Nations campaign after last weekend’s loss to Scotland.

More to follow….