Key events
1m ago
Yellow card! England (Itoje, 65)
6m ago
Penalty! Italy 16-18 England (P Garbisi, 61)
9m ago
Penalty! Italy 13-18 England (P Garbisi, 58)
10m ago
Yellow card! England (Underhill, 57)
16m ago
Penalty! Italy 10-18 England (F Smith, 54)
16m ago
Yellow card! Italy (Nicotera, 53)
25m ago
Penalty! Italy 10-15 England (F Smith, 45)
30m ago
Second half!
45m ago
Half-time: Italy 10-12 England
46m ago
TRY! Italy 10-12 England (Roebuck, 40+1)
54m ago
TRY! Italy 10-5 England (Menoncello, 35)
1h ago
TRY! Italy 3-5 England (Freeman, 26)
1h ago
Penalty! Italy 3-0 England (P Garbisi, 21)
2h ago
Kick-off!
2h ago
Update on England’s team
2h ago
Tom Curry limps off before kick-off!
2h ago
England team
2h ago
Italy team
3h ago
Preamble
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66 min: Italy go for the maul and they make ground. Then they throw in a bunch of backs to help out. But England do brilliantly to not give away a penalty and manage to rumble the Italians out of touch just five metres short of their line. Fantastic defence. I wonder if Italy should have taken the shot at the lead.
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Yellow card! England (Itoje, 65)
64 min: England down to 13 for two minutes. Off the maul, Itoje stuck his hand in where it didn’t belong. Cynical, according to the ref just as Italy return to 15 men. They kick to the corner this time despite being in range.
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63 min: Another penalty on the floor for Italy. This is inside their own half so Garbisi will kick for touch. It’s not a great touch-finder and doesn’t go very far. Still, they’ll have the line-out in England’s half. Momentum is a hell of a thing, eh?
Meanwhile, Underhill’s yellow will remain. Agree with that.
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Penalty! Italy 16-18 England (P Garbisi, 61)
In off the post! In a flash it’s a two point game. Garbisi, from the right tram, curled a left-footer off the far stick.
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59 min: A bit of kick tennis ends with Fusco, on for A Garbisi at 9, hoofs a touchfinder over halfway. Italy steal the England line-out and attack down the right. Pani makes good ground, They’re looking good and then win the penalty on the floor inside England’s 22. That came off a kick ahead that turned the England defence and forced the error on the floor. Credit to Lynagh who held his shape and waited til the right moment to get over the ball. P Garbisi will take aim from out wide.
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Penalty! Italy 13-18 England (P Garbisi, 58)
Garbisi doesn’t drill this but he gets it over. Bit against the run of play but they’ll be happy to be within five again.
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Yellow card! England (Underhill, 57)
I guess. I mean he has made contact with the Italian ball carrier’s head. Not intentional, not dirty, but it is the right call. That gives Italy a shot at three points from about 40 metres just about in front.
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57 min: They’re looking at a replay. Underhill might be trouble for a shoulder on head hit. Just a question of where the first contact was made.
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57 min: Zuliani spills a horrible pass inside his own half. Hard to understand what’s happened to Italy. Credit must go to England, mind. They’ve been outstanding this half.
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56 min: Ioane wins a high ball from Murley. That’s a rare win in the air for Italy. Fischetti is nailed by Underhill and Italy’s momentum is halted despite stacking up eight phases. They’re closer to halfway than the try line and Underhill snatches a turnover on the floor. Italy are falling apart as England are growing.
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Penalty! Italy 10-18 England (F Smith, 54)
It was a gimme, but it just squeezed inside the left pole. No matter. Smith adds the extras and England are in firm control of this.
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Yellow card! Italy (Nicotera, 53)
That was cynical. The Italian hooker slowed the ball down on the floor just as England were gathering momentum. England have been excellent this half and should add three more to their tally as this is within range.
Ben Earl celebrates after England are awarded a penalty following a scrum. Photograph: Dan Mullan/RFU/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 13.05 EST
51 min: Itoje makes another steal! A huge hit from Underhill halts Italy’s momentum, hammering Cannone. The England skipper stoops and steals and wins a penalty. England now have. the line-out back in Italy’s patch. They’ve got quick ball off the top with Atkinson and Murley making ground.
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51 min: Italy show promise with ball in hand but there’s something lacking. A good pass finds Lynagh on the left wing and he makes some ground but once the phases start stacking up they look less threatening. The ball goes from the left wing to the right before the move fizzles out. There’s an England intercept, but we’ll have an Italian line-out from about the same spot as the previous one.
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49 min: Now Italy win the scrum penalty. Genge penalised. If you are a fan of scrums this has been a great game for you. Loads of meaty battles in the set piece. Garbisi hoofs this penalty short of England’s 22. Can they do anything with first phase strike play?
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48 min: Roebuck gets up to cause problems in the air from a contestable kick. Ioane spills under pressure. He’s upset, but that ball did go forward. Scrum to England inside Italy’s territory. Momentum all with the visitors.
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47 min: Two brilliant plays from England. First Earl ran back to gather a tricky chip from Italy inside his own 22. Then Itoje stole the ball after Spencer’s clearing kick landed in a contestable area. England have started this half with great sharpness. Now they have the line-out inside their half.
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Updated at 12.53 EST
Penalty! Italy 10-15 England (F Smith, 45)
England stretch their lead. After that sloppiness in the backfield, I reckon Italy won’t mind England leaving their 22 with only three points. Good start to the second half from the men in white.
Fin Smith of England successfully kicks a penalty. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 13.07 EST
44 min: England win the scrum penalty off Italy’s ball five out! That’s three scrum penalties for the English. Smith points to the sticks. Slight angle to the left of the poles as he’ll see them.
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41 min: England win another high kick. They launch another one that causes major problems for Pani in the backfield who makes a proper mess of things. He holds onto the ball and gives away a penalty just metres from his own line. Lucky not to be carded. England tap and go. They spill the ball!! Let off for Italy. Earl thinks he’s dotted down. Nothin’ doin’. Not e en a review.
Phew, that was very lucky for Italy. Could have conceded a try. Could have conceded a yellow card.
They have to scrum five out from their own line.
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Second half!
England get things going. Can they maintain their lead and continue their 32-game winning run against the Italians?
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Italy have not scored a second half try this tournament so far.
I reckon they’ll need at least one.
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The players are getting ready to head back out.
I’m still considering that Roebuck try. Italy really shot themselves in the foot there trying to play silly games with the clock in the read. If they were more pragmatic and kept the ball tight for 30 seconds, they’d be starting this half with a 10-5 lead.
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Half-time: Italy 10-12 England
Not sure what to make of that. It wasn’t a classic. But I think the score is a fair reflection of the match. England have been better – much better – than previous weeks. Better kicks, better chases, better at the point of contact. Ben Earl has been magnificent. Italy have been stodgy but for one outstanding line break from Menoncello. Still in the balance. Both teams with more to offer.
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TRY! Italy 10-12 England (Roebuck, 40+1)
What an end to the half! Italy will be kicking themselves. They had the scrum and opted to run it out after winning the ball at the back. But Zuiliani was turned over and England came roaring back down the right with Roebuck. England kept hammering the line and inched upfield. With bodies knackered and clustered won the left, Smith looked up and saw Roebuck by himself on the right. The kick was brilliant, the catch, gather and step was better. And with the conversion England take the lead.
Tom Roebuck goes over for England’s second try. Photograph: Adam Davy/PARoebuck celebrates. Photograph: Adam Davy/PAShare
Updated at 12.47 EST
40 min: Itoje is lifted high and pinches a line-out on halfway. Pepper runs it back into traffic. Spencer lifts a high kick but Underhill spilled it. Italy will have the scrum feed. If they can avoid giving away a penalty they’ll close out the half with a five point lead.
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38 min: England lose their feet after building nicely and give away a penalty. In that play Earl – for the millionth time this season – made ground after contact. Brex stood up well on defence. So did Ferrari and Garbisi who combined to win the penalty.
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37 min: England with a chance to strike back as they force Italy to throw from inside their own 22. But they lose their heads and give away a soft free kick fro drifting too close to the Italian line. P Garbisi kicks down town.
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TRY! Italy 10-5 England (Menoncello, 35)
England’s midfield cut in half! Outstanding line from my pick as the best midfielder in the world right now. Italy kept hammering the line off a line-out and made some ground down the left win with Ioane and then Lynagh. They recycled and a short pass back against the grain found the imperious Menoncello who put on the afterburners and sprinted away from the chasing England players from about 30 metres out. Great finish and the extras off the tee open up a five point lead.
Italy’s Tommaso Menoncello celebrates before diving over England’s tryline. Photograph: Ciro De Luca/ReutersMenoncello (centre) celebrates alongside teammates. Photograph: Fabio Frustaci/EPAShare
Updated at 12.57 EST
32 min: Underhill’s wonky ears are bleeding, so that gives us a chance to read some views from some of you:
“What a difference between this game and Sco v Fra. Like the change between top flight and second league in any sport”, says Philip H.
Stephen Vallely concurs: “OMG Daniel. This is dire beyond belief. England seem to have the knack of dragging every team down to their level of boring!
Sam Underhill of England looks on as blood is visible on his shirt. Photograph: Fabio Frustaci/EPAShare
Updated at 13.03 EST
30 min: A scrappy line-out and messy ball gives P Garbisi no platform to kick. As a result, the clearance lands right on Roebuck who runs it back and makes good ground. England hit the ruck at speed and suddenly bodies are free down the left. Atkinson kicks instead of keep it through the hands and it goes out. Italy win the line-out but England are back on the ball after another nothing hoof from the home team.
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28 min: Quesada is waving his arms about in the coach’s box. Not sure what he’s upset about but his team needs to pull their socks up. They’re back in their own half with a line-out feed. This score reflects the nature of the game, I’d say.
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TRY! Italy 3-5 England (Freeman, 26)
Quality from England! It started off the line-out from the scrum penalty. It went over the top and Earl was charging upfield. From there they had all the momentum and when Smith changed direction to move it from right to left, they had Freeman hovering down the left tram all on his own. The final pass was delivered by big Coles, who couldn’t have flung that any better.
Smith misses the extras.
Tommy Freeman of England runs with the ball to go on and score his team’s first try against Italy. Photograph: Dan Mullan/RFU/Getty ImagesThe England fans cheer as Tommy Freeman goes over. Photograph: Ciro De Luca/ReutersShare
Updated at 12.22 EST
25 min: Another scrum penalty for England! That was against the feed. A few things aren’t working, but Genge and Hayes are at least doing their bit.
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