IS IT NOW TIME TO RELEGATE ITALY?
If the Six Nations ever needed an advert for promotion and relegation, this was it.
Looking at bruised and bandaged Italians trudging off after their 21st straight loss painted a perfect picture of a broken system.
The result was never in doubt. England secured the bonus-point try inside 32 minutes, leaving the opposition defence looking like a plate of squashed Italian tomatoes.
Another year, another hiding. Another sorry indictment of an outdated system at the mercy of the self-interested blazer brigade.
What did we learn? Two things: the Twickenham crowd can’t complete a Mexican wave and England possess the power to run over the top of any second-rate opposition.
England’s Six Nations fate was taken out of their hands after Wales beat Scotland earlier in the day, so it was a case of smash, bash and dash. For the first half hour, the home side were averaging close to a point a minute.
They ran over Italian defenders like they were an Under-18 team as Joe Cokanasiga and Manu Tuilagi threw the ball around like they were back at home in the Pacific islands.
Billy Vunipola got his hands on the ball inside the first minute and, likewise, Kyle Sinckler did not shy away from the action.
Even the great Sergio Parisse looked like yesterday’s man when he was stripped of the ball in contact by Owen Farrell.
Turning down a kick at goal in the seventh minute, Farrell kicked for the corner and, from the line-out drive, Jamie George scored the first of England’s eight tries.
Italy had a couple of short-lived hoorahs. What they lack in skill, they make up for in emotion and Tommaso Allan scored a token first-half try after 20 phases of determination.
But Elliot Daly then found space out wide. He slipped through Angelo Esposito, before feeding Jonny May for his 13th try in 14th Tests.
Even Tuilagi joined the England scoresheet after handing off Michele Campagnaro.
‘It almost feels like you’ve been here before,’ boomed the music through Twickenham’s speakers.
The crowd had a taste for blood. So much so they booed Farrell when he kicked for goal after 25 minutes. Mexican waves crashed around and, after Tuilagi powered through another gap, Brad Shields scored the bonus-point try.
Every now and then, England’s players gathered in a huddle to reset. A guard against complacency on big Joe’s big day. The second half started in the same vein. Cokanasiga carried the ball in one hand like a loaf of bread, before Farrell switched play for Tuilagi’s second down the right wing.
Luca Morisi scored the Italians second try, so Jones unloaded his bench. Scrum-half Dan Robson was finally given another chance to impress in 62 minutes, with George Ford partnering him in a new halfback combination. Questions have been asked about Jones’ reluctance to deploy Robson and the Wasps favourite quickly made his mark.
After George Kruis scored from a charge-down kick, Robson got on Cokanasiga’s shoulder to score the first try of his Test career.
Jones is running out of chances to properly blood Robson in international rugby as the clock ticks down towards the World Cup.
England were still not satisfied. Jones was intent on revenge for the embarrassment caused by Italy’s ‘no ruck’ tactics two years ago.
Shields rounded off the rout following another charge down in the final minute and it was a case of ‘Arrivederci Italia’.
Fiji-born Cokanasiga, 21, was winning only his fourth cap for England. He said: ‘After Wales we wanted to react, come together as a squad, and that’s what we did.
‘I just wanted to take this chance with both hands. This gives us confidence, a chance to build, and that’s what we want to do.’
Jones added: ‘It was a good response after Wales. We left a bit out there, there’s disappointment with certain aspects but we are looking forward to Scotland.
‘Benny Te’o and Manu Tuilagi are good players, and Joe Cokanasiga is only going to improve.
‘It’s not so much his size, it’s what he does with his size.
‘We don’t have to worry about the title race, that’s for the media to talk about. Scotland have had a poor Six Nations, so we’ll have to be at our best.’
Italy head coach Conor O’Shea, who backs a Nations Championship despite the threat of relegation, said: ‘It was an incredibly powerful England performance.
‘We tried to play and we created a lot when we had the opportunity, but there was too much power.’ SCORERS; England — Tries: George, May, Tuilagi (2), Shields (2), Kruis, Robson. Cons: Farrell (4), Ford (3). Pen: Farrell. Italy — Tries: Allan, Morisi. Cons: Allan (2). Referee: Nic Berry (Australia). Attendance: 82,000.