However, despite Ben Youngs scoring two tries in producing a man of the match performance to crown his 100th international in an England shirt, there was a rustiness about this display against an inexperienced Italian side that cannot be entirely excused by the eight-month lockdown gap in this longest of Six Nations tournaments.
England have set the bar on the highest rung, with head coach Jones starting the season by talking about their ambition of “being the greatest team the world has ever seen”.
They were far from that lofty peak at the empty Stadio Olimpico, and the only smile on the faces of many of their fans at the interval would have been one of weary resignation.
Up to that point they had stuttered their way to a 10-5 lead, and with the amount of ball that they had kicked away the vision of the game articulated by the England attack coach Simon Amor in the buildup “for our team as a whole to be more instinctive and play very, very fast” seemed like a pipe-dream.
Thankfully, they put their forgettable opening half behind them, to produce a steady drum-roll of tries throughout the second-half, with Youngs adding to his try before the break by scoring his second one minute after the restart, and Jamie George, Tom Curry, and Henry Slade following his lead.
The Youngs kick-start came when his dummy from the base of a ruck was bought by the Italian sentry, Danilo Fischetti, and his sniping run saw him elude Braam Steyn and Matteo Minozzi to touch down, and with Owen Farrell converting for a 17-5 lead England had breathing space for the first time.
Denne historien er fra November 01, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 01, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
RICHARD Barrington has signed up to the Ampthill “Mob” reassured that he’ll still have a target on his back most weeks.
Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.
