England to claim title with dominant win over Italy

Colin Newboult
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Italy's Luca Bigi (left) and England's Owen Farrell pose for a photo with the Six Nations Trophy during the Guinness Six Nations launch at Tobacco Dock, London.

There are a number permutations heading into the final weekend of the Six Nations but the task for England is quite simple: win and win well.

Should the Red Rose do their job then all focus will shift to Paris where France host Ireland. The Irish currently top the table, knowing that a bonus-point victory will secure them the title, but that particular result is unlikely against an improving Les Bleus side.

It means that Eddie Jones’ men head into this weekend as favourites to lift silverware on Saturday night. Interestingly, there are seven changes to the side that defeated Wales in their previous encounter back in March but, such is the depth they have at the moment, it doesn’t especially reduce the quality of the squad.

While they lack the out-and-out physicality that Manu Tuilagi brings, it should not matter too much against a poor Italian outfit. Henry Slade and Jonathan Joseph bring plenty of guile and pace to the midfield with exciting youngster Ollie Lawrence on the bench to add the ballast if needed.

Fresh faces

Although Lawrence is not in the mould of Tuilagi, the Worcester Warriors man certainly packs a punch in contact and, together with another Ollie, the powerful Gloucester wing Thorley, Jones has different options at his disposal.

Up front, there are few surprises, albeit Jonny Hill gets an opportunity to impress after an outstanding season for Exeter. The Chiefs lock makes his debut and will look to take his club form on to the international arena.

Other than that, there are plenty of familiar faces and ultimately England should have far too much quality for the hosts. Their task is to rack up the points and hope that a lack of game time doesn’t produce a rusty performance.

That will be their head coach’s only concern as they face an Azzurri side that struggled on their Six Nations return against Ireland last weekend. Once again, there was a lack of creativity, cohesion and defensive solidity as they succumbed all too easily in Dublin.

They are trying to play an expansive style without having the quality to do so, while the kicking game is non-existent, which allows the opposition to counter-attack at will when they are inevitably forced to clear after getting shoved back behind the gain line.

Franco Smith needs to get the basics sorted first, which is quite simply lineout and scrum, before he can look to the backs. And there is hope in the front five. Giosuè Zilocchi has been very solid, despite only being 23, and second-row Niccolo Cannone is another who should be around for the next decade.

In the back-row, they have plenty of outstanding operators, with Jake Polledri, Sebastian Negri and Braam Steyn all of Test match quality. With patience and a bit more precision from the front five and half-backs, that trio could wreak havoc at the highest level.

At the moment, however, they don’t have that continuity, or an effective enough game plan, to cause England problems and the visitors will expect a big win on Saturday.

Players to watch:

For Italy: There haven’t been too many alterations for Italy, despite another heavy defeat last weekend, but Matteo Minozzi returns to provide some spark from full-back. The speedster played a key role in Wasps’ run to the Premiership final and he should provide them with a bit more edge in attack. Minozzi has an excellent all-round skill set and will offer a significant threat with ball in hand, providing the Italians can somehow get front foot ball. England have an excellent kicking game and will no doubt look to put pressure on the hosts’ back three, which is why the front five of the Azzurri also have a crucial role to play.

For England: There has been criticism over the lack of Exeter Chiefs players in the Red Rose squad, but Eddie Jones has decided to hand an opportunity to their impressive lock Jonny Hill. The second-row starts alongside Maro Itoje in the engine room and he should add plenty of quality to an already imposing England pack. Of course, Test rugby is a very different beast but, having enjoyed another outstanding season for the Devonians, Hill has everything he needs to succeed at the highest level. The 26-year-old is an excellent lineout operator, is superb in the loose and carries well. There were perhaps concerns over his physicality, especially in close quarters, but Jones would have been pleased with his efforts during the 2019/20 season, where he consistently made it over the gain line.

Head-to-head: Both teams have gone for similar set-ups in the backline by fielding a playmaker and distributor at 12. Carlo Canna lines up at centre for the hosts while Henry Slade takes the position for England. The Exeter Chief is no doubt the more natural player for the role with his slightly larger frame and sheer experience in the midfield giving him a better all-round game, but he has rarely played at inside centre at international level. Slade will have less space in attack by playing closer to the ruck, but he is an excellent decision-maker and it will not be a surprise should the 2019/20 double winner impress. Canna, meanwhile, has struggled for Italy but it is not necessarily his fault. The Zebre player is there to help the Italians play an expansive game, using his passing range to get the ball into the wider channels. However, given his experience at fly-half, he needs to vary his game a bit more and take the pressure off youngster Paolo Garbisi, who did most of the kicking out of hand against Ireland.

Previous results:

2019: England won 37-0 in Newcastle
2019: England won 57-14 in London
2018: England won 46-15 in Rome
2017: England won 36-15 in London
2016: England won 40-9 in Rome
2015: England won 47-17 in London
2014: England won 52-11 in Rome
2013: England won 18-11 in London

Prediction: England need to win by plenty given that their points difference is worse than Ireland’s. That should be well within their reach, however, against a poor Italy side and we therefore see the Red Rose claiming the title on Saturday. England by 40.

The teams:

Italy: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Carlo Canna, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Marcello Vioili, 8 Jake Polledri, 7 Braam Steyn, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Niccolò Cannone, 4 Marco Lazzaroni, 3 Giosuè Zilocchi, 2 Luca Bigi (c), 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Simone Ferrari, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 David Sisi, 20 Johan Meyer, 21 Maxime Mbanda, 22 Guglielmo Palazzani, 23 Federico Mori

England: 15 George Furbank, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ollie Lawrence, 23 Ollie Thorley

Date: Saturday, October 31
Venue: Stadio Olimpico
Kick-off: 17:45 local (16:45 GMT)
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant Referees: Alex Ruiz (France), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
TMO: Romain Poite (France)

 

England