Steve Borthwick admitted England were far from their best in a hard-fought 27-24 win over Italy in the Six Nations. England trailed 17-14 at the break in Rome but an improved second-half performance kept their unbeaten record in this fixture intact. England take on Wales next week at Twickenham, while Italy travel to Dublin to face the might of Ireland.
England head coach Steve Borthwick said his side looked like they had “only had three training sessions together” after surviving a serious scare to beat Italy 27-24 in Rome.
The Italians threatened to do what they had never done before and register a historic win over England when they went 17-8 ahead in the first half and led at the break but it was not to be.
A poor second-half showing from the hosts and a marked improvement – particularly in defence – from England got Borthwick’s men over the line for an important victory.
The 44-year-old, who led England to a third-placed finish at the Rugby World Cup last year, admitted it was far from vintage stuff but with a number of players making their debuts, praised the character shown to come from behind to keep their unbeaten record in this fixture intact.
“I think there are certainly positives to pull out of it, but it looked clunky in bits,” Borthwick told ITV Sport. “It looked like a team which only had three training sessions together, but credit to Italy.
“They had a certain part of cohesion picking players from one club which sits second in the United Rugby Championship.
“But a winning start with five debutants and the ability to be in a difficult position and find your way out of it is a massive positive.
“You are always looking for change. There are certainly things to be improved and we got exposed by an Italian team that moves the ball well, but we will improve on that next week.”
Ahead of the tournament, Borthwick vowed that England would play with a fresh intensity and teased a new identity compared to the one that saw them labour to just two wins last year and a fourth-placed finish.
While far from the finished article, England’s blitz defence in the second half was the notable difference that turned the tide in their favour, forcing numerous handling errors and turnovers out of the Italians.
And Jamie George, England’s new captain, praised the work done by defence coach Felix Jones in just a short space of time and said the second half gave a glimpse into the kind of physical game they are trying to adopt.
“It was a mixed bag,” George added. “I would say I am really pleased with some of the endeavour. The boys dug in at times and I am pleased with the character we showed.
“There were some new faces in the squad, but the blueprint we played in the second half showed what we are more about.
“In terms of our efficiency there are some fixes we need to get right. The thing that pleased me the most is we tried things and that is what we have been focusing on.
“We have loved how Felix Jones has come in and grabbed Kev’s [Kevin Sinfield’s] defence.
“Felix has come in with new ideas and we want to be physical. It was not perfect and we know we have got to be better going into Wales, but it was a pretty good start.”
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