Key Takeways From England's Rampant Six Nations Victory Over Italy
Key Takeways From England's Rampant Six Nations Victory Over Italy
England kept its Six Nations hopes alive with a dominant 47-24 win over Italy. A balanced attack, Italian errors and Fin Smith’s rise defined the match.
England kept its hopes of a Guinness Six Nations title alive with a comprehensive 47-24 victory over Italy at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
Taking a 21-17 lead into halftime, the home side started the second half like a freight train to all but end the contest by the 52nd minute, at which point, the score was 42-17.
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Here are three key takeaways from today’s match:
Balanced England
Unlike just about any performance thus far under Steve Borthwick, this fixture saw a balanced England performance across the board.
Laying the platform with direct forward carries, which were complimented by a strong offloading game, England made easy meters through the heart of the Italian defense.
Once on the front foot, England stretched the Azzurri before punishing them in the wide channels.
When Italy did front up, England turned the screw through the boot with Fin Smith, Marcus Smith and Elliot Daly employing a clever grubber and mid-range kicking strategy which found green space in the Italian backfield.
At set-piece time, England ended with a 100% record at both line-out and scrum time, which they used as a springboard for dynamic power players.
Italian Basics
Capable of doing the incredible with regularity, this Azzurri side is flashier than any of its predecessors since joining this competition 25 years ago.
Where this side falls short is in the bare basics of tackling, the breakdown and support play.
Missing 36 tackles for an 80% completion rate does not tell the full story of just how poor the Italian defensive effort was against England.
One moment that immediately comes to the fore was Paolo Garbisi’s lackluster attempt on Tommy Freeman, where the fly-half had an opportunity to whack the England winger into touch. Instead, the Toulon playmaker put in a half-hearted wrap attempt, which the Northampton flyer simply shrugged off.
That was just one example of a very fixable issue for the Azzurri, which, more than anything, requires them to front up physically.
At the breakdown, the Italians were turned over eight times to go with a poorly set maul just before halftime, which brought to an end a potential try-scoring opportunity.
Until Gonzalo Quesada’s side gets on top of these areas, they will continue to be found out by the other sides in this competition.
Fly-Half Debate Settled
Causing rampant debate amongst English Rugby fans has been the move away from Marcus Smith in the No. 10 shirt for his namesake Fin.
Offering vastly different skill sets, the pair offer Borthwick’s coaching staff an intriguing pair of aces to play.
There is no secret that Marcus brings a dynamic running edge and useful versatility to the England backline. Unfortunately for the Harlequins star, through his 40-plus caps, he has yet to be fully backed.
This has led to him never quite producing his best play at the test level in large part, it could be argued that what makes him special is his big downfall.
Capable of shredding a defensive line, Smith requires players who react to his actions, rather than those capable of being playmakers in their own right.
This brings us to Northampton’s Fin, who is the archetypal English fly-half who facilitates the action for those around him.
Rock solid in every department, Fin has the pace to capitalize on space and the vision to put players around him into space.
With the boot, he is exceptional both from hand and the tee, but most importantly, he can fit in as a cog of the gameplan rather than being the fulcrum of it. This is what separates him from his rival and what will make him England’s fly-half for the next decade plus.
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