Five takeaways from England v Italy
Following a 57-14 win for England over Italy in their Six Nations clash, here’s our five takeaways from the game at Twickenham on Saturday.
Primary schooling: Turn the clock back two or three years and you expected Italy to excel at the basics knowing, perhaps unkindly, they’d struggle for penetration. However, today the Azzurri missed a whopping 23 primary tackles, with left wing Angelo Esposito missing four on his opposite number, man-of-the-match Joe Cokanasiga alone. Yes, England had power and pace from one to 15 but no international side is going to compete when hemorrhaging yards in this manner and Conor O’Shea and his coaches will be utterly dismayed by the capitulation of his primary defensive system, despite the severe disruption of his back-row and midfield.
Classical gas: There’s an old adage in rugby that the one thing you can’t coach is pace and if today was a Formula One qualifying session, England’s team would have all made the front of the grid. From Elliot Daly’s coruscating incursions to Cokanasiga’s one handed showmanship, the direct pace in attack was a joy to see. However, pace is as much speed of thought as fleetness of foot and in this regard, Jamie George, Brad Shields and George Kruis all showed their credentials as well as their backline comrades. England need to use wisely the X-factor talents of big Joe and the Chief himself, Manu Tuilagi. With them in their side, every opponent will be worried, very worried.
Variety performance: After England’s visit to Cardiff it was inevitable that there would be a backlash, but thankfully today’s performance was also a backlash of style. For a short period in the first half, as first Billy Vunipola and then tighthead Kyle Sinckler started kicking, one expected Nigel Owens to bellow across the pitch “It’s not soccer!” However, from that moment on pace fused with power and conspired to literally blow Italy off the pitch, as England showed a far greater variety in attack than in previous games this year. As O’Shea remarked after the game: “That was the top of the mountain in terms of physicality, pace and power. 2015 was never going to be England’s year – 2019 will be.”
Competition is healthy: If Eddie Jones learned one thing from the Cardiff debacle it was that competition off the bench and impact in replacement is game changing. It was therefore pleasing to see England’s recalled players and bench putting pressure on each other, with Shields putting in his best performance in an England shirt with Cokanasiga, Ellis Genge and finally, Dan Robson all enhancing their claims. The key thing here is Jones will now be forced to select rather than simply name a side for the Scottish encounter, a mark of the health and depth of the England squad.
Exit stage left: At the 61 minute mark, a giant figure finally took leave of Twickenham’s Cabbage Patch for the very last time (surely). There has been no greater player in the 19 years of Six Nations rugby than Sergio Francesco Antonio Parisse, and arguably, no finer number eight in the history of the sport. As the great man had declined, so have Italy’s fortunes. However, all is not lost; as one sun sets so another rise and Braam Steyn and Jake Polledri look admirable heirs to the Parisse crown. However, it says everything about the man that it’ll need two quality players to fill his shoes – for so many years he was so good it seemed at times there were two of him on the pitch.