England kick-started their 2021 Six Nations campaign with a dominant 41-18 triumph over Italy but it came at a cost as one of the try-scorers, Jack Willis, was stretchered off with a serious-looking injury.
Willis’ left knee was damaged when he was cleared out at a ruck, just moments after the replacement flanker had scored the fifth of England’s six tries.
Jonny May plundered his 32nd international touch down on the stroke of half-time by leaping for the whitewash and grounding the ball from a mid-air horizontal position.
It was a remarkable moment of skill and ingenuity from one of the game’s most ruthless finishers, whose acrobatics swept him over a despairing tackle by Luca Sperandio and up one place in England’s all-time try-scoring charts.
Having moved above Ben Cohen and Will Greenwood into clear second, Rory Underwood’s total of 49 is the last remaining target.
A week after Scotland had claimed their first win at Twickenham since 1983, the most experienced England team of all time began the process of rebuilding their title defence with a predictably comprehensive triumph against the Six Nations’ weakest opposition.
Anthony Watson ran in two tries while Jonny Hill and Elliot Daly also crossed, but at times their play was scrappy and unconvincing, partly the result of Italy’s stubborn resistance and occasional flourishes in attack.
The Azzurri’s moments of promise were insufficient to prevent a 29th successive loss in the Six Nations, although on this occasion they were competitive if comprehensive losers.
Memories of the Calcutta Cup debacle came rushing back as England conceded two early penalties before leaking a try after only 144 seconds as Monty Ioane capitalised on some sluggish defending to race in.
They had been caught cold by Italy’s tempo with Watson and Daly at fault, but Owen Farrell settled nerves with a penalty as the setback made way for a spell of red rose dominance.
A short-range free-kick saw the ball retained in the pack and eventually the Azzurri cracked before the succession of pick and goes with Hill touching down.
Fly-half Paolo Garbisi was off the mark with a penalty that levelled the score and while they were still in the fight, territory and possession were slipping away at an alarming rate.
England’s back three were dwarfing their contribution against Scotland, with Watson the most effective carrier, and the Bath wing’s side-step and injection of pace swept him over in the 26th minute.
But for greater accuracy, Italy would have been in as they poured forward from a line-out as they impressively fought their way back into contention.
England ended the half strongly, however, and were rewarded when Sperandio went walkabout in defence and May crossed with a spectacular try that saw him leap into the corner.
✈️ Air May cleared for landing. #GuinnessSixNations #ENGvITA pic.twitter.com/8BOGrPh1Nu
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 13, 2021
Garbisi opened the second half with a penalty as Italy, helped by some mistakes from the home side, played with pace and intent exemplified by two eye-catching breaks.
It was therefore a blow when their best spell was ended by an ill-advised Garbisi pass that was cleverly picked off by Watson, who galloped 80 metres to score his second try.
Again Italy were stubbornly holding their own only to fall to England’s smarter thinking, caught unawares during a period of niggle and when camped on their line, Willis drove over.
Willis’ celebrations at scoring his second try were cruelly muted shortly afterwards when his leg twisted during a clear-out, causing an awful injury to his left knee that saw him driven from the pitch on the medical cart.
After a lengthy delay to treat Willis, England were caught cold as Tommaso Allan raced in from a scrum but Daly replied quickly thanks to a turnover by Maro Itoje, completing the rout.
Check out the video highlights from England's 41-18 victory over Italy in London on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Gloucester wing pounced midway through the second half, destroying Irish hopes of a famous triumph over adversity after flanker Peter O’Mahony’s 14th-minute red card.
The 38-year wait for success at the home of the reigning Six Nations champions finally came to an end as Finn Russell inspired the underdogs to a magnificent win.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair with Les Bleus holding the upper hand for long periods and they eventually outscored their hosts by seven tries to none with Teddy Thomas (2), Dylan Cretin, Gael Fickou, Arthur Vincent, Brice Dulin, Antoine Dupont crossing the whitewash, while Matthieu Jalibert finished with a 15-point haul after slotting six conversions and a penalty.
Faletau and back-row colleague Justin Tipuric were excellent, but there was still little evidence to suggest that Wales will be a Six Nations force later this season.
A pair of tries from Keith Earls, plus one from Cian Healy, helped Andy Farrell’s hosts overcome a slow start and end an inconsistent year in positive fashion.
The Pacific Islanders’ three previous games in the tournament were cancelled after they reported 29 coronavirus cases in their squad and they were highly motivated to deliver a good performance.
The previous Test between these sides ended in a 15-15 draw and it was a similar story in this Test which was played in horrendous weather conditions, with heavy rain prominent throughout.
Fly-half Billy Burns staked his claim as the first-choice understudy to sidelined skipper Johnny Sexton by contributing 15 points to help the Irish return to winning ways following last weekend’s disappointing defeat to England.
On the night that they remembered Christophe Dominici, who died at the age of 48 this week, France looked to a new generation as a side featuring 13 changes made light work of the Italians.
Eddie Jones’ men secured a seventh successive win thanks to tries by centre Henry Slade and prop Mako Vunipola, while Owen Farrell kicked four penalties and a conversion for a 14-point haul.
In a fast-paced and entertaining encounter, New Zealand had the bulk of the territory and possession and although they had to work hard to break down Argentina’s defence, they showed great patience and eventually outscored their opponents five tries to nil.
Gregor Townsend’s men were looking to match a feat achieved only twice in the Dark Blues’ modern rugby history, the last by David Sole’s 1990 Grand Slam winners.
Nineteen-year-old wing Louis Rees-Zammit, showing the finishing ability that brought him 10 tries for Gloucester in England’s Premiership last season, and replacement Rhys Webb crossed in either half.
Jonny May crossed twice to move beyond Jeremy Guscott and into joint second in the all-time red rose try-scoring list alongside Ben Cohen and Will Greenwood with 31 touch downs, leaving only Rory Underwood ahead.
In a tight and unspectacular encounter, Australia impressed on attack — especially in the first half — but they came up against a solid defensive effort from the Pumas.
George was the beneficiary as the home pack struck repeatedly through their line-out drive, reverting to the tactic time and again as their disappointing attack never left first gear.
Gregor Townsend's team made it five straight victories for only the second time in the professional era but for an hour that run looked under serious threat.
Poor discipline and inaccuracy in the execution of their game-plan cost the All Blacks dearly in last week's defeat to the Wallabies and it was a similar story against the Pumas, who dominated for long periods and delivered an outstanding defensive display which paved the way to victory.
Toulouse playmakers Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack outshone Ireland counterparts Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton to assert their status as Europe's top half-back pairing.