Finished Twickenham
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Six Nations - Poor England beat Italy to keep Grand Slam alive
England were thoroughly unconvincing in an 18-11 victory against a spirited Italy side in their penultimate Six Nations clash. More
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Live Commentary
Time:80'- England
- Italy
80' A lucky bounce sends Venditti in down the right! He's away but England regroup and survive, with Italy turned over as England kick to touch and that is it. A very unconvincing win but it's a win that means England lead Wales by three points and 14 on the points difference. Masi the official man of the match, McLean for me.- 79' Wood has to sweep up after England make a mess of the line-out. But they should be able to wind it down from here... Oh a shocker of a kick follows but Brown takes it and feeds Croft, whose kick is better this time.
- 78' And now England have a penalty as they use their street skills to resist Italy.
- 78' Possession is now 50-50. England have fallen apart. Italy with the line-out but big Lawes gets hold of it. Vital.
- 77' England make a bit of a mess of that scrum but they get it to Flood - who mis-hits his kick to touch just short of the 22. Deary me.
77' ITALY SUB: De Marchi is replaced by Lo Cicero. Wilson also comes on for England as they look to add some meat.- 76' There's a knock-on and England survive! Phew! Desperate defence from the English as Italy chuck the kitchen sink at them!
- 75' Venditti spins to within five yards and it's worked centrally for Masi who is in! He just needs to offload but he panics and stalls! Venditti again could be in but England are fighting for their lives!
- 74' Italy have laid camp in the England 22. Really fierce assault from the Azzurri!
- 73' Italy are piling it on now as they look to force a score! England resisting the onslaught!
- 72' ENGLAND SUB: Hartley replaces Tom Youngs.
- 72' ITALY CHANGE: A blow for Italy as McLean comes off, he must be injured. Benvenuti on.
- 71' Good on the move, he finds Lawes but the move breaks down. The excellent McLean rushes through the middle as Italy take the game to England!
- 70' Looked like a forward pass to release Flood, who makes 40 odd yards before avanello hauls him down.
- 69' England have a breather as the ball creeps into touch. People missing tackles all over the shot. Launchbury wins the line-out but the danger is not clear...
- 68' Tuilagi concedes a scrum to Italy, which is nicely circulated wide to McLean, he rushes through a pair of tackles and England could be in trouble here!
- 67' ENGLAND SUB: Finally Twelvetrees makes his entrance, on for Barritt.
- 66' Great reaching tap by Parisse, but a crunching tackle sees Favaro knock it on.
- 65' Italy, having trailed 73-27% possession wide earlier, are close to parity, which says everything about England's performance.
- 64' ITALY CHANGES: Pavanello, Favaro and Minto all come on for Furno, Geldenhuys and Barbieri.
63' Flood takes, Flood converts and England are seven points clear at 18-11.- 62' Lawes has picked up a knock by putting his head in all-advised spots.
- 61' Several Italy players have strayed offside but they don't interfere and England work it centrally. Now Lawes flies forward, Brown on the move. Flood is almost released but England work it wide and eventually play is pulled back for a penalty to the hosts.
- 60' ITALY CHANGE: Giazzon is replaced as England make touch with the kick. Looking for the try.
- 60' Good kick from Youngs, but a fine take by McLean. England then turn Italy over and a knock forward hands England the ball.
- 59' ENGLAND REPLACEMENTS: Marler and Ben Youngs come on for Vunipola and Care.
- 58' Barritt is turned over as his team-mates fail to support in time but the Orquera kick is taken by Goode - who puts it to touch in a panic.
- 57' Fumble by Zanni and England turn it over through Care. Vunipola now, in for Tuilagi as England make progress...
- 56' England have perked up a bit now as they take the physical battle to Italy.
- 55' A promising move from England sees some fine passing but Goode is tackled, looking to be in some pain as he hits the deck.
- 54' Orquera misses again, he probably should have got that but their was no in-swing on it.
- 53' Italy have a penalty on the right, kickable it is - Robshaw lets rip at his team, who have really let their foot off the gas.
- 52' Italy are all over England suddenly as Venditti batters his way through before going down under a Tuilagi tackle.
- 51' ENGLAND SUB: Croft on for Haskell. Big cheer for the man who broke his neck.
- 50' Orquera is unable to convert, slicing it wide.
49' TRY ITALY! Wood and Care make a mess of that and Italy have it back - McLean is in now and he has no resistance as he touches down for a try! Horrible kick from Care, slicing it up in the air to let Orquera cooly slot his kick wide for McLean to race in! 15-11!- 48' Good tackle from Lawes to make his mark on the game. Good kick from Orquera though and England have the line-out ahead of the 22.
- 47' Orquera should clear this, centre-right close in... Yes, 15-6. A nine-point game again.
- 46' A big surge from Italy's scrum and England collapse again. Cole and Ghiraldini go head-to-head and the ref separates them. Penalty Italy.
- 45' Scrum Italy but England collapsed it says the ref. Parling can't continue now as Lawes enters the play.
- 44' Flood is going to kick this, the toughest one yet, to the right and just inside the Italy half... Excellent kick, very clean despite the wind and it drops between the sticks. 15-3.
- 44' England have another penalty as Clancy talks to De Marchi. Holding on. Parling looks set to continue for now.
- 43' Flood kicks to touch but Parling is struggling. His shoulder may have popped a bit. The physios are working on him, get him off I say. Courtney Lawes is warming up on the exercise bike.
- 42' Italy penalised for diving in to end that good start to the half.
- 41' Canale with a powerful run but England hold him up. Italy starting with intent as their forwards show their strength.
41' The second half is underway!- - FACT: This is England's lowest half-time score against Italy at Twickers, but it is a decent Italy side.
- 40+2 That was the last act of the half, England with a nine-point lead after an unconvincing half. Italy - led by the monster Parisse - have come back into it but England won't let this slip.
- 40+1 The kick is close in and a touch to the right, Flood easily converts and England enter half-time 12-3.
- 40' Wonderful run from Brown, going a full 30 yards weaving in and out and as he rides two tackles he offloads at the third - England spread it wide but the ball ends up in touch as Tuilagi drops with Parling treading on the touchline as he catches the loose ball. England do have a penalty though.
- 39' Safe from Goode as he marks under pressure.
- 38' Wood does very well after a terrible pass from Youngs I think it was, could well have put Italy in. Robshaw pumps it to touch.
- 37' England have a penalty after Italy collapse the scrum and Flood makes no mistake with the dead ball, in contrast to his kicking from open play. 9-3.
36' ITALY BLOOD REPLACEMENT: Botes is on for Masi.- 35' ... Tuilagi races away and Ashton could be in but a loose pass is just forward and Italy have it back.
- 34' A fine passing move down the Italy right stalls as Parisse is tackled. Still with Italy as McLean and Vednitti combine but Parling intercepts and here come England through Care...
- 33' Let's see if England can exploit the extra man before half-time. This is a great opportunity to create daylight on Italy.
- 32' Italy have a penalty as Canale tackles Barritt before drawing in his forwards to win the kick.
31' Castrogiovanni's thigh has been strapped up. Looks like his work is done, must be a muscle tear. Mistake in the Italy defence as Gori kicks it at Flood but an obstruction off the ball from him means Flood cannot get in and the Italian is sin-binned.- 30' England counter attack as Care races away, his pass is mishandled by Tuilagi but it goes backwards... now Wood on the move but he runs into Vunipola's behind. Accidental obstruction.
- 29' ITALY CHANGE: Cittadini replaces Castrogiovanni, who has picked up a knock.
- 28' Italy's best spell now as they lay camp by England's 22. After a good start, England have gone off the boil a little.
- 27' Masi with a big hit on Vunipola, who is built like a hippo and manages to stay on his feet. Goode drops a Flood pass that was a touch flat but very much gettable.
- 26' The scrum turns too much for Mr Clancy's liking and he reverses it to Italy. Poor from England in a scoring position. Ah, early engagement - he did that earlier for Italy.
- 25' England had to score there, two clear opportunities for Ashton and Flood. Flood probably should have offloaded, even if he was on the line. A delay as an Italy player is injured... Scrum England five yards short of the line.
24' England with a long, bruising spell of pressure as they switch from centre to left and back again. Now Tuilagi gets some space wide right, now Flood with a super burst, he finds Vunipola, and Ashton must score but he slips! Flood could be in again though, he makes it over the line but a trio of Italy defenders get ground-side of the ball and Italy survive!- 23' Robshaw leaps highest at the line-out and now Tuilagi races away. He's held up but Cole surges forward, now Parling as England show their muscle. Tuilagi gets another job on, almost getting away but not quite.
- 22' Italy are penalised for collapsing the scrum and it's a free-kick to England - Flood is lucky this time as it almost falls short of touch, but McClean drops it and England have the line-out.
- 21' Parisse is spoken to after questioning the referee, and I'm thinking the Italy captain has a point. Not sure where the knock-on was.
- 20' Italy could be in here as Zanni catches England napping after a cute pass from Parisse but, as he offloads, there's a knock-on and England survive.
- 19' Goode reads Orquera's kick and he drop-kicks to touch for a line-out deep in Italy's half.
- 18' Orquera to take this penalty for Italy, pretty central and he nails it comfortably. 6-3, Italy off the mark.
- 17' Italy have a chance to pull three points back as Youngs pulls the rolling Italian pack down illegally.
- 15' Flood with the kick, straight down the centre, and England lead 6-0 after a quarter of an hour.
- 14' England have a penalty as Flood tries an ambitious up and under, Clancy already signalling he penalty which Flood will kick down the middle.
- 13' England with 73% possession so far. Only 2% of the action in their 22.
- 12' A Flood penalty to touch fails to make the distance again, but England continue to pile the pressure on as McLean kicks out.
- 11' England's pressure is incessant as Good clatters into Parisse.
- 10' Brilliant turnover from Parisse, who makes the tackle and coughs the ball up while falling, but England retrieve possession. Too long for Ashton though, the kick landing out as he gave chase.
- 9' Care almost wriggles away but McLean intercepts and clears. Italy withstanding a lot of pressure.
- 8' Vunipola with a superb take after a poor pass from Wood and Italy stray offside. England dominating now.
- 7' Uncharacteristic error from Launchbury leaping to claim the high ball but Italy fail to make him pay, a poor kick buying no territory at all.
- 6' Flood's kick just misses touch but a terrible clearance from McLean bounces off Brown's chest and he could be in for the try but it bounces just past the line as he landed on it! Unlucky for Brown, who plays so well for England but can't get that try!
- 5' Castrogiovanni offloads to Ghiraldini but Barritt intercepts and wins a penalty. England very quick and united in defensive movements.
- 4' Care kicks to touch and Italy's line holds well as Parisse brings it down.
- 3' Flood coolly slots the opening score away as England lead 3-0.
- 2' Strong drive from England and they get a penalty as Italy collapse.
- 2' You can hear the decibels rise when Tuilagi drives into the Italy pack. Scrum just inside the Italy half with an England put-in.
1' The first half is underway as Tuilagi immediately flies in with a tackle.
14:55 What are your predictions for this clash? It would be foolhardy to call anything but an England win, but by how many? They need a good score to put daylight on the Welsh - what's your feeling? 1-5, 6-10, 11-15 or 16+? Let me know on Twitter @Reda_Eurosport. Twitter- 14:50 England's James Haskell: "I picked up a lot from Sergio - confidence with the ball in hand, looking to attack opposition players and taking people on, developing your skill range to do different things, different passes. He is a world-class player that most people would want in their team. He is very consistent and leads by example, with that Italian fire and passion he has. You want that. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I've tried to ask him for a coffee but he hasn't replied to my texts."
- 14:45 England boss Stuart Lancaster: "You need to dominate physically and take your opponents to places they don't want to. We want to put in a performance that reflects where we think we are. We think we are an improving team with strength in depth and, from what I have seen, a motivated team. "We are in a good place going into this game. We have won three from three and we want to make sure we finish it off."
- 14:40 England can move to a commanding position with one match left, but they have to win comfortably - which is the expected result. Victory would put them three points clear of Wales with a match in Cardiff remaining; before the match England have seven points on the Welsh in the points-difference, so a good victory here would make it almost impossible for Wales next time out. Six Nations 2013 | Tables - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
- 14:35 Tom Youngs enters the front row as does Lesley Vunipola, who gets his first start. Italy welcome back the big man Sergio Parisse from suspension as they look to spring an upset.
- 14:30 Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of England's Six Nations clash with Italy at Twickenham, starting at 3pm.
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Summary
England versus Italy Tries McLean 49’ Conversions Flood 4’, 16’, 38’, 42’, 44’, 62’ Penalties Orquera 18’, 48’ Drops
Live Team Line-Up
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EnglandManager: Stuart Lancaster
On the Field
- Vunipola
- Youngs
- Cole
- Launchbury
- Parling
- Haskell
- Robshaw
- Wood
- Care
- Flood
- Brown
- Barritt
- Tuilagi
- Ashton
- Goode
Subs
- Hartley
- Croft
- Youngs
- Lawes
- Wilson
- Burns
- Twelvetrees
- Marler
Injured
None
Suspended
None
- Vunipola
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ItalyManager: Jacques Brunel
On the Field
- De Marchi
- Ghiraldini
- Castrogiovanni
- Geldenhuys
- Furno
- Zanni
- Barbieri
- Parisse
- Gori
- Orquera
- McLean
- Garcia
- Canale
- Venditti
- Masi
Subs
- Lo Cicero
- Pavanello
- Cittadini
- Botes
- Minto
- Favaro
- Benvenuti
- Giazzon
Injured
None
Suspended
None
- De Marchi
England Slam winners today .. Going to smash the sweaty welsh ,to bits ... Come on you Mighty England!!
it was hard for my dad to choose who he wanted to win because he's half italian and half english but I think he thought that both teems did well.
Scandalous referee. Arbitro scandaloso. Good luck, England !!!
One prominent total pr@t posting on here. Writes such juvenile bile. If you read back through the postings, you'll soon know what I mean.
England were fortunate that Castrogiovanni was playing for Italy in the first half. Without him, in the second half, Italy could come away with a result.
Looked forward to this weekends rugby and what do we get three games of rubbish.Only team to come out with any cedit were the Italians
best English player today was the ref if it was a different ref Italy would have walked it
One of the most average games I have ever seen.
It didn't take long for Terry the Turd to post his normal rubbish comments, what a complete #$%$ wipe he is.
Wayne is an old English name ,how does that feel you mug .. English name and you speak English as your first language .. Mind you ,whoi would speak welsh huftreb bhdgye hfgyfb hdbfhrf ..kmow what I mean wayne ..You mug
wilber wales will kick your A next week! by 20 points
Italy would have deserved to win. Also, whatever happened to the try?
Well done Italy. you deserved to win.
Sorry but England were krap. How they managed to win amazes me. Just as well the ref gave them 5 penalties in front of the posts.
The game is over do you know
The pretty boys almost lost it wales will love it when they meet next week
and you english think your going to beat wales with that performance.....
italy were excellent and gave non fit england the run around
Well done Italy the boys did well, we need to face up next week at Cardiff!
