Matt Dawson column: 'England's win over Italy was not spectacular but it was a fair start'

Matt Dawson

England's performance against Italy was not spectacular but to get themselves through the opening game relatively comfortably is a fair start.

Steve Borthwick blooded five new players and a lot could have gone wrong, but there were some good individual performances in the 27-24 win.

Ethan Roots and Tommy Freeman just look like international players - they do the basics really well and look like they can have an impact on the game.

Freeman wanders around, picks his moment and hits lovely lines. You can't actually coach the line he ran for Elliot Daly's try - he has that instinct to read the play, which happens very quickly at this level, and he seems comfortable.

While he may not have the blistering pace of someone like Jonny May he brings so many different dimensions to broken-phase possession.

And Roots was not just a trundle of muscle. He has clever footwork and the ability to find little gaps. He makes the opposition think very carefully about how they defend. He is careful about how he avoids contact, which he probably gets from his mixed martial arts experience.

Chandler Cunningham-South came on in the second half and looks like he could be a real handful at international level. With him, Roots, Tom Curry coming back and Ben Earl at number eight, England have dangerous, mobile and athletic back-row options.

Alex Mitchell injected a lot of pace into the match and is developing his game to take it to another level. There is a marked difference between him and any of the other scrum-halves, who have to catch up.

England grind out comeback win against Italy

'Disappointing to see England revert to type'

England tried to be a little more expansive but I was slightly confused as to some of their tactics in the last 15 minutes.

I was not sure hanging on against an Italy side who wanted to impress their new coach was the way to see out the game.

They ploughed on but in that position you need to run the opposition off their feet so they have nowhere to go. England slowed it down and went through their kicking options and I was disappointed to see them revert back to type.

That was the main sticking point.

It was a shame Fin Smith did not necessarily get the time when England should have been pressing on.

For too long, you can tell what England have been doing throughout the week and they are just following that plan without feeling the opposition or the context of the game.

I was expecting a bit more from Danny Care and Smith off the bench to exploit Italy's weaknesses, but it looked like they went straight to the training ground and what the coaches had told them - to kick, slow the game down and drive the line-outs.

That is OK but it brought Italy back into the game. England were not stretching Italy to tire them and score but Smith will learn that.

There is a lot going on in your head when you are sitting on the bench ready to go on in your first Six Nations game. Your head is spinning and you can understand why he did not want to make too many mistakes because he was trying too hard.

I think it was a good way of blooding him on his international debut.

Getty Images

Debutant Fin Smith (third from the right) was one of six Northampton Saints players to represent England against Italy

'England will be a better side next week'

England had a few opportunities close to Italy's line and chose to take the points, which I do not mind because they wanted to win the game away from home, and on another day they may have had a run at it or kicked to touch and driven over.

But I would challenge them to keep playing.

In defence, their line speed and aggression will cause opposition attacks some problems but there were moments they looked in trouble.

They will learn from conceding those three tries in Rome.

England will definitely be a better side next week. The ability to unite themselves for a fixture of this magnitude against Wales makes a huge difference.

It is at Twickenham and we have some fantastic new players coming through. The crowd will be excited about this new England side and they should absolutely be using the 16th man to press them forward.

Wales will pose a similar threat to Italy because they will be underdogs as a young side and will throw everything at it.

But if England can do the hard yards, the opposition can only defend for so long. England looked like a big powerful side against Italy who can stretch the opposition.

That type of physicality and movement will take its toll in the last 10-15 minutes. They have to have the mentality of being physical from the start. Use those individuals they used in Rome, shore up the defence but keep playing.

That being said, nobody in the northern hemisphere beats Ireland the way they played against France.

They were so well-drilled - like they were at the World Cup, when they played some brilliant stuff but that quarter-final against New Zealand came down to fine margins.

France were a bit rusty but Ireland were scintillating. They are head and shoulders above everyone at the moment but there will inevitably be injuries, red cards and some controversy which will make this Six Nations interesting.

Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Mantej Mann.

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