England got out of jail in Rome thanks to another charge down from Charlie Hodgson, and some consistent kicking from young Owen Farrell. They’ve got a few big players returning to the squad though, so that should bolster their efforts.
Manu Tuilagi, Toby Flood, and Courtney Lawes have all rejoined the training camp following injury, and will no doubt be in contention for their meeting with Wales in two week’s time.
Flood will be looking to push Hodgson out of the starting flyhalf spot, but with two crucial charge-down tries, it’ll be fairly harsh to drop him. Hodgson’s try against Italy brought England back into the game after two quick tries at the end of a sterile first half put the home side in command.
Farrell then showed his temperament to slot the conversion and two penalties, allowing England to take their second win of the competition.
“Owen is beginning to fulfil the promise He’s stepped up magnificently. His ability to tick that scoreboard over was important. We trust in him and his team-mates around him clearly do too,” said coach Stuart Lancaster.
When asked about the conditions and the atmosphere, Farrell brushed off any need for concern.
“It’s more off-putting when they’re silent,” said Farrell.
Below are the three tries from the game if you haven’t seen them yet. We’ll have clips from the rest of the weekend’s action, from all competitions, soon. If you have a request from something you saw and would like featured, please drop us an email, tweet
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