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Gavin Mairs' verdict: Eddie Jones' England achieved their target - but it was a fitful display lacking precision

Tom Curry celebrates as England pull clear in the second half - GETTY IMAGES
Tom Curry celebrates as England pull clear in the second half - GETTY IMAGES

It was far from the free-flowing performance that England had desired but on a night when Ben Youngs marked his 100th cap with a brace of tries, Eddie Jones’ side did enough to claim their first Guinness Six Nations title since 2017 with this bonus-point victory in Rome.

Ireland’s defeat against France in Paris ensured that England’s five-try victory, however fitful and too often lacking precision and intensity, secured a third championship of Jones’ tenure, on points difference ahead of Les Bleus.

Importantly, given the financial strains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, winning the title is also worth a total of over £22 million for the Rugby Football Union, including a £5 million bonus for winning the championship.

England had vowed to make the nation smile again as they returned to the international stage for the first time since March and although the performance lacked panache, as Billy Vunipola said on Friday, “everyone smiles with a trophy.”

It was only when Italy’s effort collapsed midway through the second half that England were able to drive home their advantage, scoring four of their five tries in the second half.

Ben Youngs scores England's second try - GETTY IMAGES
Ben Youngs scores England's second try - GETTY IMAGES

Youngs was at the heart of both England’s blitzkrieg starts to each half, finishing off a break by Owen Farrell for a perfect opening in the fourth minute and scoring again two minutes after the restart.

Yet despite a penalty by Farrell after Youngs’ first score, England laboured through most of the first half however, after Jonny Hill was sent to the sin bin on his debut for a high tackle and Gloucester flanker Jake Polledri reduced the deficit at half-time to five points with a try against the run of play.

England’s power up front and their setpiece dominance only told in the second half with tries by Jamie George, on his 50th cap, Tom Curry and Henry Slade completing the victory.

Even in the extraordinary circumstances of no supporters in the stadiums and being forced to watch Ireland’s defeat to France in their Roman hotel before the celebrations could begin, it was a night that the 31 year-old Youngs will never forget.

“I have had some unbelievable messages, people getting in touch from ex- players, teammates, guys I have played against from other countries for years - that means the most to me as they know how hard it is to achieve it and getting that recognition from those boys means a lot,” said Youngs.

Ben Youngs stars in his 100th-cap match - GETTY IMAGES
Ben Youngs stars in his 100th-cap match - GETTY IMAGES

“I just had a great presentation from Eddie and Owen and I will now relax and enjoy this evening… and Jamie George, Jonny Hill, Ollie Thorley, Ollie Lawrence, Tom Dunn - plenty of boys are on high spirits so I will enjoy each other’s company.”

Jones admitted his side had been “rusty” given their lack of preparation following the cancellation of last Sunday’s match against the Barbarians because of their opponents’ Covid breaches.

“We lost control for 20 minutes in the first half,” said Jones. “I think we got seduced by scoreboard pressure, got distracted by what the opposition and the referee were doing and lost our composure a little bit. But I thought our response in the second half was outstanding.

“We certainly tried to play with a lot of passion and intent. I hope the fans at home enjoyed the game and feel a little bit better about themselves because we’re going to go through another tough period, aren’t we? If we are allowed to continue to play international rugby, which we’re hopeful of we have to make sure we do everything we can to help society.”

England had flattered with their opening after Youngs had finished off in style in the sixth minute from Owen Farrell’s break from a soft-handed pass by Mako Vunipola and soon after Farrell added a penalty.

Jake Polledri scores a try for Italy - AP
Jake Polledri scores a try for Italy - AP

It was against this run of play that, Italy, struck. Maro Itoje won a turnover but as England moved the ball quickly Kyle Sinckler could not hold the pass and Canna gathered to find Polledri who had the pace to elude Jamie George and the cover tackle from Farrell.

There was a further setback to England’s promising start when debutant Jonny Hill was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle to Edoardo Padovani after he had taken Farrell’s high ball.

The yellow card appeared to disrupt England’s rhythm and errors slipped into their game; Jonathan Joseph knocked on, Itoje conceded a penalty from a line-out and another was conceded after a maul was pulled down. Italy were able to assert some shape to their own game, attacking the wide channels and their confidence grew.

It took a scrum penalty won by Mako Vunipola to offer critical relief for England after Italy had driven a line-out maul to the English line.

With Ben Earl on as a blood replacement for Earl following Hill’s return, the Bristol flanker won a penalty to allow England to kick a penalty into the Italy 22 and Polledri was shown a yellow card for illegally disrupting the maul. Italy though managed to force the turnover from the line-out to add the England’s frustrations.

George Furbank competes for the ball with with Paolo Garbisi - GETTY IMAGES
George Furbank competes for the ball with with Paolo Garbisi - GETTY IMAGES

The half finished with a scare for England after Federico Mori made a blindside break and he almost won the race to the ball ahead of Furbank over the line from his kick ahead but neither could ground the ball.

Jones cut a frustrated figure and the half-time chat was no doubt stern. And once again England started in imperious manner from the restart, with Hill charging down the clearance kick by Marcello Violi, Itoje gathering before Youngs dummied from the base of the breakdown, bewildering Danilo Fischetti with a side-stepping run to the line for his second try.

It renewed England’s purpose and after probing the Italian defence with a number of phases, a penalty secured the platform for the third try, this time an immaculate setpiece play from a line-out this time allowed George to mark his 50th cap with a score.

The bonus point came from another scrum penalty, allowing Farrell to again kick into the Italian 22, and after another maul, a sniping break by Youngs bust the defensive line and Curry picked up to squeeze over in the corner to secure the crucial bonus point in the 68th minute.

England’s job was now to extend their margin of victory to increase the pressure on Ireland and France, and a neat chip by Farrell allowed Earl to gather and Slade was in support to go over for a fifth try, and job done.

Match details

Scoring sequence: 0-5, Youngs try, 0-7 Farrell con; 0-10, Farrell pen; 5-10, Polledri try; 5-15, Youngs try, 5-17, Farrell con; 5-22, George try, 5-24 Farrell con; 5-29, Curry try, 5-34, Slade try

England: G Furbank; A Watson (rep O Thorley 53), J Joseph (rep O Lawrence 67), H Slade, J May; O Farrell (c), B Youngs (rep D Robson 72); M Vunipola (rep E Genge 58), J George (rep T Dunn 79), K Sinckler (rep W Stuart 62), M Itoje, J Hill (rep C Ewels 67), T Curry, S Underhill (rep B Earl 53), B Vunipola

Italy: M Minozzi (rep G Palazzani 46); E Padovani (rep F Mori 21), L Morisi, C Canna, M Bellini; P Garbisi, M Violi; D Fischetti (rep S Ferrari 60), L Bigi (c, rep G Lucchesi 60), G Zilocchi (rep P Ceccarelli 60), M Lazzaroni (rep J Meyer 77), N Cannone (rep D Sisi 60), S Negri (rep M Mbanda 72), B Steyn, J Polledri

Referee: P Gauzere (Fra)