England begin hat-trick bid with routine victory

Red Rose score seven tries as they put the Azzurri to the sword

ITALY 15 ENGLAND 46

England’s quest for an unprecedented hat-trick of Six Nations titles was launched yesterday by a 46-15 victory over Italy that produced a late flurry of tries.

The champions exploded out of the blocks by crossing twice through Anthony Watson inside the opening 10 minutes, but the overwhelming win their early onslaught appeared to signpost only materialised in the closing stages.

In the end Italy’s whitewash was breached seven times in the bonus-point visit to the Stadio Olimpico, but England were made to work by a team that had nine starters with 10 caps or fewer.

Eddie Jones had urged his players to set the tone for their campaign by putting the Azzurri to the sword and they responded, but there will be plenty to pick apart, not least the way they were exposed out wide when leaking two tries.

The victory came at a cost, too, as Ben Youngs was forced off in the ninth minute with what appeared to be a serious knee injury inflicted when the joint buckled awkwardly during a tackle.

The Leicester captain screamed in pain and was driven from the pitch by the medical cart, enabling Danny Care to make his 77th Test appearance and equal Matt Dawson’s record as England’s most capped scrum-half.

Youngs’ distress points to a significant lay-off and having relied on just two players in the position for virtually his entire reign, Jones will finally have to summon a third option.

Sam Simmonds also grabbed two tries while other scores came from Jack Nowell, Owen Farrell and George Ford.

FRANCE 13 IRELAND15

Joe Schmidt has ordered Ireland not to rely on Johnny Sexton to dig them out of trouble again in the NatWest 6 Nations.

Head coach Schmidt admitted he will drum home the message that Ireland cannot afford to let Test matches slip away, after Sexton’s last-ditch drop-goal stole a 15-13 win over France in Paris on Saturday.

France caught Ireland cold with Teddy Thomas’ converted try edging Les Bleus into a late 13-12 lead, only for Sexton’s added-time drop-goal to save the day.

Ireland ploughed through close to 40 phases before Sexton dropped the winning goal, and while Schmidt hailed his talisman’s nerves of steel, he conceded his side can ill afford to leave victories so late in future.

“We can’t leave matches in the balance,” said Schmidt.

“You’ve got to make the most of advantages and get the points you need. One freakish event, and one freakishly good player in Thomas and his try can undo all that hard work.”

Ireland will roll on to face Italy in Dublin next weekend, but must do so without Josh Van der Flier, who has suspected knee ligament damage.

France lost both Matthieu Jalibert and Antoine Dupont to knee injuries.

Sam Simmonds celebrates after scoring England’s sixth try in their comfortable win over Italy yesterday.