England Crush Italy to Stay in Six Nations Title Race
England got one step closer to winning the Six Nations after an outstanding 47-24 victory against Italy at the Allianz Stadium.
Under the London sun, England brought home a resounding seven tries with Fin Smith near perfect from the tee, only missing one conversion for the final try. Italy only had three tries and one penalty.
England started their offence right away, with Tom Willis scoring his first ever try in an England shirt after only four minutes. After being stuck in their own half for the first 10 minutes, Italy found a break through the English defence and Monty Ioane’s perfect chipped kick allowed Ange Capuozzo to even out the score.
Italy had the opportunity to take the lead when Garbisi stepped up for a penalty 20 minutes in, but his wide kick left the score tied.
England capitalised on the miss, and a clever deep kick by Elliot Daly allowed Tommy Freeman to run past the Italian covering defenders and put the ball down.
A combined play between Capuozzo and Ross Vintcent brought Italy its second try of the match. The Italian full-back caught Jamie George flat-footed and found Vintcent on his shoulder, who then scored an outstanding try.
England quickly regained control with a series of beautiful offloads from the forwards. George, on his 100th cap, gave the final one to assist Ollie Sleighthorne, who found an opening through Italy’s defence and touched down in the corner.
A Garbisi penalty brought Italy closer to their opponents at halftime, with England just ahead with a narrow four-point lead.
As the second half commenced, Italy’s hopes sank.
England put their foot on the gas right at the start of the second period and, after just ten minutes of play, Marcus Smith, Tom Curry and Sleightholme scored three quick tries in succession, taking the game out of Italy’s hands.
Despite England’s best efforts to keep Italy scoreless in the second period, Tommaso Menoncello exploited a gap in England’s defence and crossed the try line. Despite their best efforts, it was too late to turn the tide of the game.
Ben Earl sealed the result of the match scoring the seventh try for England, with the referee blowing the whistle right after Smith’s failed conversion.
After this clash, Italy remain in fifth place, while England need to focus on next weekend’s crucial fixture against Wales, where they will have the chance to fight for the Six Nations title in what is predicted to be a spectacular Super Saturday.
