World champs clinch first win of 2005
England got their RBS Six Nations campaign off the mark with a six-try 39-7 win over Italy at Twickenham on Saturday. Italy have yet to win a match -- with the daunting prospect of facing France in their final match.
Saturday's match had sparkling moments but by and large it was ragged, not aided by the use of uncontested scrums. Italy lost their hooker Fabio Ongaro in the first half, and then in the second half prop Salvatore Perugini and replacement hooker Giorgio Intoppa. They had, they said, no suitably trained player to play hooker and the scrums became uncontested.
England scored ten points in the first nine minutes and 12 points in the last four minutes and not much else happened in the first half. In the second half they scored their first points after 20 minutes, the next four minutes later, and the last in the last movement of the match.
It was a match England were never going to lose. Perhaps with contested scrums they would have got a more complete grip on the game but lots of it was ragged.
Italy scored a neat try was they attacked and attacked, and then late in the game their backs showed enterprise, especially from Andrea Masi and nippy wing Ludovico Nitoglia.
England looked best when Iain Balshaw was running but after the initial flourishes he had little running -- until near the end when he produced the blooper of the season.
Italy were best in doing ordinary things well -- getting and keeping possession but they lack a game-breaker -- any game-breaker, which mean that regardless of how close they got and how many phases they went through the ardent Azzurri were not a threat to England's defence.
When Marco Bortolami was penalised at a tackle, the very first penalty of the match, Charlie Hodgson goaled. 3-0.
Italian fly-half Luciano Orquera kicked a long way downfield to his left and away from the forwards. Balshaw got the ball and started running. He beat two Italians and gave to Jamie Noon. The centre handed to mark Cueto and the wing had a straight run to the posts. Hodgson converted. 10-0 to England after nine minutes.
The floodgates then creaked close and not even a huge England scrum near the Italian line produced a score.
Hodgson missed an easy penalty but Gert Peens, the Italian fullback, kicked the drop-out straight out. England attacked from the scrum, Joe Worsley doing good work, until eventually big hooker Steve Thompson was forceful in the tackle and got the score. Hodgson converted. 17-0 after 36 minutes.
On half-time England attacked again and Mark Cueto accepted a run-in on the left wing for England's third try. 22-0 to England at half-time.
Italy had the better of the first part of the second half and scored first. They had a good maul off a line-out and hammered at the England line until scrum-half Alessandro Troncon picked up, handed off Graham Rowntree and enjoyed scoring. Gert Peens, who had hit the woodwork with a penalty in the first half, converted. 22-7 after 45 minutes.
Italy attacked but lost the ball in the England 22. England kicked downfield, chased. Italy missed the ball which Cueto picked up. His pass to Josh Lewsey was forward, as the touch judge suggested, thus preventing a try.
Italy were penalised eight times in this half, seven times at the tackle/ruck. England turned one into a five-metre line-out which they lost.
A massive maul stuttered, gained momentum and was then stopped under the use-it-or-lose-it law just when a try was certain.
It was at this stage that scrums were eviscerated.
From a scrum five metres from the Italian line, England moved the ball the width of the field. Balshaw came in and scored in Nitoglia's tackle. 27-7 after 60 minutes.
Four minutes later England again went wide, this time from a line-out. Again Balshaw came in, this time freeing up Cueto for his hat-trick try. 32-7.
Replacement hooker Andy Titterrell had a great break in the manner of a class centre, and then Orquera and Masi did clever things to get within three metres of the England line.
Time was up when -- from broken play -- replacement Andy Hazell was given a run at the line for his first points for England. Andy Goode was on for Hodgson for his first cap and he capped the occasion by converting the try, his first points for England. 39-7 -- and the final whistle went.
Man of the Match: Martin Corry, captaining England for the first time, was all things strong, noble and committed. Iain Balshaw did much to provide sparkle. But our man-of-the-match is Alessandro Troncon of Italy. In a losing side the veteran showed great skill, determination, strength and fine judgement.
Moment of the match: There was one which will be remembered. From deep in England territory with Italy on attack, Iain Balshaw kicked a long, long ball down towards the Italian corner. As the ball rolled towards the Italian line, Balshaw easily outstripped all Italians. He caught up with the ball as it slowed down. Half a metre from the line, with no Italian in sight, Balshaw waited carefully. The ball stood up gently -- and went back through Balshaw's legs! Without the ball he crashed on his face in the Italian in-goal.
Villain of the match: Iain Balshaw -- see above!
The scorers:
For England:
Tries: Cueto 3, Balshaw, Hazell
Cons: Hodgson 2, Goode
Pen: Hodgson
For Italy:
Try: Troncon
Con: Peens
England: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Jamie Noon (Ollie Smith, 66), 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Charlie Hodgson (Andy Goode, 74), 9 Harry Ellis (Matt Dawson, 51), 8 Martin Corry (captain), 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Joe Worsley (Andy Hazell, 74), 5 Ben Kay, 4 Danny Grewcock (Steve Borthwick, 62), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Steve Thompson (Andy Titterrell, 66), 1 Graham Rowntree (Duncan Bell, 66).
Italy: 15 Gert Peens, 14 Roberto Pedrazzi, 13 Matteo Barbini (Walter Pozzebon, 28) 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 David Dal Maso (Silvio Orlando, 40), 6 Aaron Persico, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Salvatore Perugini (Martin Castrogiavanni, 53), 2 Fabio Ongaro (Giorgio Intoppa, 20 -- Mario Savi, 62), 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Unused replacements: 19 Santiago Dellape, 21 Paul Griffen.
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Nigel Williams (Wales), Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
Assessor: David Kerr (Scotland)
Television match official: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
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