England begin their Six Nations championship defence against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with Eddie Jones' side looking to become the first nation to win the title outright three times consecutively in its 135-year history.
Jones rolls the dice by naming Ben Te'o at outside centre ahead of Jonathan Joseph, despite the Worcester Warriors midfielder not playing since October and having just seven appearances to his name this season, Te'o is brought in to try and give England some power out wide, with Joseph among the replacements should the game open up late on.
77 mins: The first try sees Sam Simmonds burst through the line and turn on the gas, breezing to the line without anyone getting close to him.
Immediately, England break again, and a bullet pass from Ford from the ruck finds Simmonds out wide, who sucks in the defence before feeding Jack Nowell to score in the right corner. Farrell can't convert, so England lead 15-46.
77 mins: TRY FOR ENGLAND!
75 mins: TRY FOR ENGLAND!
72 mins: Frantic play as the game breaks down, with a nice offload from Simmonds to Itoje sees the lock go close. The ball is intercepted on the next play though and Boni breaks down field. He's tackled by Ford, and England get the turnover, and Care chips over for Nowell to chase. Minozzi gets there first and secures the ball, but it's knocked on and England get the scrum.
68 mins: Farrell makes the break on the switch-back, running a nice line off George Ford's shoulder, and when he's one-on-one with Minozzi, he feeds Ford to go over. Farrell converts and the score is 15-34.
68 mins: TRY FOR ENGLAND!
67 mins: England make a mess of the lineout and drop the ball, and Italy are able to clear.
66 mins: England win a penalty in the scrum and Farrell goes tot the corner. It's a catch and drove, and Italy start driving sideways to force them into touch that results in a penalty. Farrell goes to the corner again, but not after Parisse gets a team warning.
63 mins: A few more changes that break up the game, with Brown heading off as Jack Nowell comes on, meaning Watson moves to full-back. Edordo Gori is on for Cioli at scrum-half.
59 mins: Changes for England as Joseph and Kruis are on for Te'o and Lawes, joining George and Williams who came on before the try.
58 mins: Itoje brought down the maul and Italy had a penalty advantage, so they spread it wide and again Allan floats a flat pass out to Mattia Bellini. He dives for the corner under the tackle from Brown and it looks like he's in touch...NO!
TRY FOR ITALY!
58 mins: Italy go for the corner...TMO check!
56 mins: Allan tries a cross-field chip for Bellini, but Watson gets to it first and we'll come back for a penalty after Lawes used his hands in the ruck. Italy go for the corner.
52 mins: That was far too easy for England. Lawes took a lineout, they set up the maul, and Italy's complete failure to oppose it allowed Sam Simmonds to break through the middle and score his first international try. Farrell converts and England lead 10-27.
52 mins: TRY FOR ENGLAND!
49 mins: NO TRY!
It was Tommaso Boni who went over, but the pass to him was clearly forwards and Raynal decides it's a scrum in England's favour instead. A big let-off for the visitors.
49 mins: Wait a minute, we've got a late TMO check...
49 mins: Parisse gets a lovely offload off the deck to Bellini and the wing breaks through. He thinks about taking on Brown but takes contact instead...TRY FOR ITALY!
47 mins: Ridiculous decision from Giammarioli as he bats the ball back i the scrum with his hand right in front of referee Mathieu Raynal, handing Farrell a simple three points in front of the posts. 10-20.
We use cookies to enhance your visit to our site and to bring you advertisements that might interest you. Read our Privacy and Cookie Policies to find out more.
Reuse content