Kyle Sinckler believes England took a step in the right direction after his Guinness Six Nations Player of the Match performance helped them to a convincing win over Italy at Twickenham.
After a frustrating start to their Guinness Six Nations title defence, when they suffered a first Twickenham defeat to Scotland since 1983 in Round 1, the Red Rose needed a response.
A six-try triumph was just what the doctor ordered as Anthony Watson’s double, Jonny May’s spectacular flying finish and scores for Jonny Hill, Jack Willis and Elliot Daly helped down the Azzurri 41-18.
And having returned from suspension to start in the front row, Sinckler acknowledged that the performance was night and day from a week ago.
“It was a step in the right direction,” said the prop. “Our intent was a lot better, especially up front, and we probably didn’t get the rewards we wanted but, in terms of showing what it means to play for our country, it was a step in the right direction.
“We were obviously very frustrated by the performance last week and we knew we had to step up and play the England way.
“The way we want to play is to dominate up front, which we did at times but we know there’s so much more to give. Now we move on to the next game.”
Eligible for selection once more, Sinckler formed part of an all-new front row alongside Mako Vunipola and Luke Cowan-Dickie, with all three impressing at Twickenham.
The tighthead prop put in a shift for 74 minutes – carrying the ball 11 times for 40 metres, helping England exert dominance at the scrum, not missing a tackle and buzzing around the field, hitting the breakdown with ferocious regularity.
That earned him the nod as the official Guinness Six Nations Player of the Match but Sinckler was just pleased to come through a tricky test with a victory.
“Credit to Italy, they were tough – they never gave up,” added Sinckler. “We knew they would do that and they were strong.
“Their forwards carried hard, their backs had energy and it was a tough, tough Test match but credit to our boys – we stuck in there and got the win.”
