Italy v England LIVE rugby: Result and reaction from Six Nations as England hold on to beat Azzurri
Italy 24-27 England: Steve Borthwick’s England come from behind and then hold on to edge out a fiesty Azzurri side in Rome
England recovered from a scruffy start and a 17-8 deficit to beat Italy 27-24 in their opening Six Nations game in Rome, ending a run of four successive opening-round defeats in the championship.
Italy flew out of the blocks with a Tommaso Allan penalty and a well-created try for Alessandro Garbisi and though Elliot Daly hit back for England, their new-look side looked disorganised, not least when Allan flew through for the hosts’ second try.
Two George Ford penalties closed the gap to 17-14 at half-time, somewhat flattering for England, but they took control in the second period, starting when scrum half Alex Mitchell showed great determination to claim their second try.
Ford’s boot stretched the lead and more aggressive defence kept Italy at bay until Monty Ioane broke through for a converted try in added time to earn Italy a losing bonus point.
Relive all the action from Rome below.You can get all the latest Six Nations odds and tips here.
Wales 0-27 Scotland
46 mins: Wales win a penalty in midfield and kick into 22, so will have a good platform.
TRY! Wales 0-27 Scotland (Duhan van der Merwe 43’)
Duhan van der Merwe at it again for Scotland! Such poor defence by Wales. They over-kick with the clearance and don’t chase up properly.
One dummy from Russell just inside the Welsh half sells multiple defenders and he passes to van der Merwe who accelerates past one tackler, then glides round the outside of Williams and powers over in the corner.
It’s a sublime finish but what were Wales doing? Russell nails the conversion and it’s now 27-0 to Scotland. Yes, you read that right...
Wales 0-20 Scotland
42 mins: Some half-time changes from Wales as they look to change things. Two in the front row as hooker Ryan Elias unsurprisingly gets pulled, with Elliot Dee coming on and Keiron Assiratti on for Leon Brown at prop. Tomos Williams on at scrum half as well for Gareth Davies and Sam Costelow fails his HIA, so Ioan Lloyd on permanently
KICK-OFF! Wales 0-20 Scotland
Back underway in Cardiff. Can Wales pull off a miracle and turn this round?
WATCH: First-half highlights from Cardiff
A miserable first half for Wales but here are the highlights
HALF-TIME! Wales 0-20 Scotland
Scotland giving away penalty after penalty at the moment to give Wales life. Offside on halfway, Wales have a lineout on the 22 as the clock goes red.
They win it! Elias finally finds his own man but then the ball is knocked on in contact a couple of phases later to end the opening 40 minutes.
That sums up the half, really. Poor from Wales and they’re being dominated. Scotland on course to end their 22-year Cardiff drought.
Wales 0-20 Scotland
40 mins: Wales win a penalty near halfway but then miss touch with the kick! Not even that close really, it flies into Rowe’s hands on the tryline a few metres infield.
Wales’s kicking game from open play isn’t much better. Far too long as they boot the ball back to Russell.
Wales 0-20 Scotland
39 mins: Ioan Lloyd on at fly half for Sam Costelow as he gets an HIA. Oh no... Wales’s lineout horrors continue as again they lose it, going through Wainwright’s hands and Scotland dive on the loose ball.
White box-kicks clear out of the 22. And Wales lose that lineout as well. Cleanly stolen. This has been an awful first half by the Welsh.
Wales 0-20 Scotland
37 mins: Ok, a real chance here for Wales. Scotland unstable at the scrum and it’s a free-kick against them in their own 22. Wales opt for another scrum themselves and the ref warns there’s no more free-kicks after one each - it will be straight to penalties now.
And Wales win the scrum penalty! Kick to the corner - can they finally score?
Wales 0-20 Scotland
36 mins: Even the Welsh crowd can’t bring themselves to properly ‘ooh’ in faux disgust to try and force the ref to punish Crosbie. He’s come in for the clearout, he’s wrapping, it’s all legal and his shoulder makes incidental contact with Costelow’s head, who is dipping as well.
Ben O’Keefe rules no foul play and so we play on. Correct decision there - not every head contact is foul play.
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