Finished
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Sloppy England win Six Nations opener
England beat Italy 36-11 in the opening game of the Six Nations on Saturday but it was a flattering win. More
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Live Commentary
Time:80'- England
- Italy
80' A poor performance from England and had it not been for Italy's first-half problems the scoreline could have been much closer. Stay with us as we go over to Dublin for Ireland v France.
80' Italy looking for one final score but mclean chip is touched down to give England a 36-11 victory.
79' Goode nails the touchline conversion to make it 36-11.
78' England try to burst through midfield but Italy tackling is good. The ball comes back and quick hands from Armitage puts Cueto in at the corner. At last! 34-11.
77' Better from England as they at least try to keep the ball alive. Italy concede another penalty as Ellis is announced as the man of the match. England kick for corner for one last chance. Can they finish the game on a high note?- 76' Foden goes blind and sets up attacking position for England. Goode chips over but it's took long and Italy touch down comfortably.
- 74' Hartley flattened by Delappe but Italy concede penalty in middle of pitch. England opt for scrum and have options now either side. Robertson big hit on Geraghty but ball is knocked on.
74' Geraghty is back on after his sin bin, while Croft replaces Kennedy and Tait is on for Noon.- 73' McLean misses conversion but at the moment there is only one team playing any rugby - and it's not England!
- 71' McLean makes surging break into England's 22 and Armitage forced into making last-ditch tackle. The ball is recycled, Italy spread it wide and, although they nearly make a mess of it, Mirco Bergamasco goes over for their opening try. 29-11.
- 68' England look to be running through treacle as they concede another penalty for holding on. There is very little momentum in their play and, even though they are going to win this game questions will be asked ahead of Wales next week!
- 67' Parisse breaks from base of scrum and feeds Zanni inside, who makes 10m into heart of England's defence. Italy are the better side at the moment! They are certainly taking England apart in the front row!
- 64' England appear to be kicking away all their possession - no wonder they are unable to create any decent attacks! Crowd seems more intent at the moment with a Mexican wave and who can blame them!
64' Geraghty takes out McLean in midair and is yellow carded three minutes after coming on!- 62' Sackey feeds Armitage and the full-back is charged down by Zanni, but the flanker knocks on with the line in his sights. Huge let off for England!
- 61' Italy bring on Nieto for Perugini.
- 60' Foden for Ellis, White for Sheridan and Geraghty for Flutey. Will it make much difference - let's hope!
- 59' There's little decent rugby on show at the moment and Brian Moore has just called for fans to get their money back! Knock ons, infringements and wrong options appear to be the order of the day as England get ready to bring on more subs.
- 57' Easter pinches Italy lineout ball and feeds Worsley. Haskell continues attack but England fail to get quick ball. Armitage tries to make inroads in midfield but knocks on.
- 55' Worsley on for Armitage, maybe to give England a little direction, and Harltey for Mears.
- 55' Goode adds the conversion and England lead 29-6. Surely now they can cut loose!
- 54' Italy have their tails up now and are stretching England's defence. But England force turnover and Ellis runs in for his second try from 40m after break from Flutey. Well played by the scrum-half who is certainly making the most from his recall. 27-6.
- 54' Ellis takes quick tap and England launch series of attacks into Italy 22. But again the ball is slow. Ellis chips over the top and Masi calls for a mark before launching counter with Canale.
- 51' Well, he had been until flinging out a reckless pass to McLean, who ships it on to Canale under pressure and the centre knocks on. Great attacking position for England in midfield.
- 50' Lovely take by Toniolatti, who already is giving Italy a much better shape from scrum-half than Bergamasco.
- 49' England force turnover but Goode's attempt at drop goal goes wide. A real flat start to this second half from England.
- 46' Kennedy and England's lineout at least going well but so far England have done little with the ball. Goode kicks nicely into Italy 22 and Cueto chase earns them lineout 10m from Italy try line.
- 44' Huge tackle Canale on Armitage junior. Italy kick up field and Cueto turned as Italy win scrum down. England have not started this half well!
- 42' Armitage senior kicks out on full and Italy have early attacking position.
41' McLean gets second-half underway. England have to step up their performance now.- - It looks like Italy have dropped Bergamasco and brought on Toniolatti at nine, Italy's fifth-choice scrum-half.
- 40' A satisfactory half for England but let's be honest - Italy have not been the toughest of opposition. Much to work on in the second 40 and England will need to be more ruthless in their approach.
- 40' England concede penalty at scrum after being put under huge pressure by Italy. Castrogiovanni really got the better of Sheridan on that occasion. McLean's shot on goal hits post and ref calls for half-time after England knock on. 22-6.
- 39' Easter does well to take box kick, but Ellis caught in possession by Dellape and Italy win scrum down.
- 38' England handle in the ruck and Italy have another shot on goal. McLean again successful as he cuts England's lead to 22-6 just before the break.
- 37' Canale chips ahead and appears to have been chipped by Haskell. The Wasps number six gets a yellow card for his troubles! Daft!
- 34' Noon chances kick off and wins ball for Haskell, who drives up field. Castrogiovanni handles on the ground after a good tackle and Goode adds three more points for England. 22-3.
- 33' England offside after decent break from Masi and Italy have another chance to get on scoreboard. McLean takes over kicking duties from departed Marcato and makes no mistakes. 19-3 England.
31' Italy are suffering a crisis of confidence here and it's all stemming from scrum-half. Surely Mallett will make a change at half-time?- 29' Goode nails conversion as Marcato is helped off to be replace by McLean. Things going from bad to worse for Italy. 19-0 England.
- 28' Bergamasco again makes a mess with his pass after good work from Canale sets up attack for Italy. Goode hacks through and Flutey wins chase for England's third try. Another disaster for Bergamasco as England lead 17-0.
- 25' Lovely touch finder from Marcato deep into England's 22. Can Italy pressure England's throw now? The answer is no as Kennedy takes throw cleanly and Ellis clears.
- 24' Ongaro again misses his jumpers. Italy have got to get their lineout sorted as they are throwing away any decent attacking positions they create.
- 21' England win freekick at scrum and take quick tap. Kennedy makes a superb burst down the left wing but is unable to find his support runners. The ball is recycled but Goode knocks on and Italy given reprieve.
- 20' Parisse chips over and claims the ball. He's a one-man team at the moment. Bergamasco again makes a mess of the pass. Mallett must do something about his scrum-half as he's ruining anything decent the Italians are doing. Not his fault of course as he's a flanker by trade, and a damn good one at that!
- 18' Italy claim drop out but there's nobody there to secure ball at the base. Where's Bergamasco? Haskell pops it up to Ellis and the scrum-half scampers over from 20m for England's second try. 12-0 England.
- 16' Italy kick up field but it's too long and Cueto launches counter, finds Delon Armitage and the ball is moved wide to Noon on the right wing before Italy defence gets back. But Italy concede penalty but Goode pulls his kick. That's two misses from three by the recalled fly-half!
- 15' England force turnover and Flutey finds lovely touch in Italy 22. Nice play from the Wasps man, who has something to prove today.
- 13' Again England offside! Marcato kicks to the corner to set up attacking position for the Azzurri. Steffon Armitage nicks the overthrow and Goode clears to touch.
- 11' England again go off their feet and Masi takes quick tap and launches attack. England offside and Italy have chance to get on scoreboard, but Marcato pulls kick from in front of goal.
- 9' Another poor pass from Bergamasco and England force turnover and kick up field.
- 8' Kennedy wins England's first lineout, but England fail to stay on their feet in ensuing breakdown and concede penalty. Not a good sign after their failure to win quick ball during the autumn.
- 6' Goode launches bomb but Parisse takes it beautifully. Bergamasco again slow with his service and Ellis flattens opposite number Marcato.
- 4' Parisse runs back Ellis's box kick and Steffon Armitage gets his first real taste of international rugby and feels the hand-off from the Italy skipper. Italy lose possesion and concede penalty, but Goode fails with his kick on goal.
- 3' Goode converts his try and England lead 7-0. What a start for the Brive player!
- 2' Ongaro throws long and England pinch possesion, launch an attack and Goode touches down after his chip through for the opening try after just two minutes. Dream restart for the number 10! England lead 5-0.
- 1' Italy take the kick off cleanly and launch a series of pick and drives. But England manage to hack the ball into a decent attacking position. Early problem for Bergamasco.
1' Goode kicks off and the 2009 Six Nations is underway. A great atmosphere at Twickenham for the opening game.- - An emotional moment for the Armitage brothers as England sing the national anthem, the first set of brothers to play for England in 14 years since Rory and Tony Underwood.
- - Sergio Parisse and his Italian side are out on the Twickenham turf in front of 80,00 fans. Steve Borthwick's England run on to a huge cheer. Can England give Johnson a winning start on his Six Nations managerial debut and give their fans some much needed cheer?
- Despite the big freeze that has swept British Isles and Ireland this week, the weather in South West London cloudy but mild this afternoon, with outbreaks of sunshine. Hopefully rain, snow and sleet will stay away.- - Italy have never beaten England in 14 attempts, but will go into this game confident they can break their duck. England, unable to field their best XV, are lacking confidence as a result of their November tribulations and are under huge pressure to start the tournament with a win. On paper, England have been handed the ideal opener but Italy have nothing to lose while Johnson and co. will be pilloried if they cannot get off to a winning start.
- - Italy have not had quite so many disruptions but have had to look to versatile flanker Mauro Bergamasco at scrum-half due to injuries to their three usual options.
- - As a result of injury, Andy Goode is recalled from his French club Brive to orchestrate things at fly-half, alongside scrum-half Harry Ellis, his former Leicester team-mate. London Irish tyro Steffon Armitage comes in the on the openside, joining his brother Delon on the starting line-up. Tindall was the last withdrawal and his spot goes to Jamie Noon, who was dropped after the autumn disasters.
- - And England have hardly had the ideal build-up. Tom Rees, Toby Flood, Lewis Moody, Mike Tindall, Danny Care and Michael Lipman have all be ruled out with injury, leaving Johnson to chose a side that looks like a pragmatic selection designed to start the championship with a win.
- - Good afternoon and welcome to the opening match of the 2009 Six Nations, England v Italy from Twickenham. A must-win game for Martin Johnson's England, who go into the game on the back of three comprehensive defeats in the November Tests.
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Summary
England versus Italy Goode 2’, Ellis 18’, 54’, Flutey 28’, Cueto 78’ Tries Bergamasco 72’ Goode 3’, 28’, 55’, 79’ Conversions Goode 36’ Penalties McLean 34’, 39’ Drops
Live Team Line-Up
- Referee: Mark Lawrence
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EnglandManager: Martin Johnson
On the Field
- Sheridan
- Mears
- Vickery
- Borthwick
- Kennedy
- Haskell
- Armitage
- Easter
- Ellis
×2 - Goode
- Cueto
- Flutey
- Noon
- Sackey
- Armitage
Subs
- White
- Worsley
- Tait
- Hartley
- Foden
- Geraghty
- Croft
Injured
None
Suspended
None
- Sheridan
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ItalyManager: Nick Mallett
On the Field
- Perugini
- Ongaro
- Castrogiovanni
- Dellape
- Bortolami
- Sole
- Zanni
- Parisse
- Bergamasco
- Marcato
- Bergamasco
- Garcia
- Canale
- Robertson
- Masi
Subs
- Festuccia
- Pratichetti
- Montauriol
- Nieto
- Reato
- McLean
- Toniolatti
Injured
None
Suspended
None
- Perugini
England have a great team and to be honest Italy were no match. But they are getting better.
go on Italy.....looking forward to our natch against you on 28th :) Should be interesting :)
go england go go england!
Come on ENGLAND,Come on ENGLAND
England ruuuuulllzzzzzzzz
good game ENGLAND! COME ON!
come on england England England
Bergamasco at 9 reminds of Dewi Morris he couldn't pass either . 9th forward .
If watching on BBC switch off the sound Inverdale is being C%$T as usual . "if England win today and Wales loose tomorrow that will make Cardiff different next week " Of course it will you silly T**T .
We are all paying this idiots wages , shame we can't sack him .ITALIA...ITALIA
england are the best
england are the best
This will be Italy's finest hour :-)
Everybody spends a lot of time moaning about the lack of inventiveness in the backs. Any set of backs can only play with what they are given. England forwards over recent years have failed to boss the breakdown. They are slow to, and at the break down supplying the backs with slow ball. Wales have improved over the last two years because they are playing much more controlled rugby, not headless chicken as they used to. They are now supplying quick clean ball to their backs allowing them the space to be creative.
England forwards need to step up to the mark and take control of the game.Come On Italia
I agree with Turpsta, we have to persevere with Danny Cip. he is the future, once he gains the confidence that comes with international experience he will be able to step into Wilkos shoes. My prediction England 70 Italy 15.
Johno is surely the man, give him a chance theres a lot of pieces to pick up from previous attempts.
perfect game 4 danny cip why do we go 1 step forward and then 2 back i dont think johno up 4 the job being a world cup winning capt dont make u a international coach
Cmon boys, smear em across the pitch:-)
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