23 min: Loose from England off that scrum. Atkinson and Smith got in a tangle with the former running a line for the latter on the loop. But the pass was poor and Smith knocked-on. That won’t fill English fans with a lot of confidence.
22 min: After gathering the restrt, Italy launch a high kick that Ioane chases, but he spills. Scrum to England on halfway all the way to their right.
First blood to the Italians! A gimme penalty is nudged over.
20 min: England take the line-out but it’s stripped. And that placed a whole lot of England players off-side. A strange little passage ends with an Italy penalty inside England’s 22. I must confess, I’m not entirely sure what happened.
20 min: Italy enjoy their best few minutes. They didn’t go anywhere, really, but they looked more assured on the ball. Ioane involved again. Cannone too. It ends with P Garbisi raking a grubber from centre field out to touch on England’s 22. Jamie George looks in trobule. Second time he’s need a look at his shoulder.
