Eddie's smile arrives but it takes a long time coming

ENGLAND eventually responded to the Eddie Jones mantra of putting a smile on the faces of their supporters thanks to a four-try second-half romp which secured this bonus point victory to put them within touching distance of the 2020 Six Nations title.

- NICK CAIN

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.