England’s bid to make history with a hat-trick of NatWest 6 Nations titles got off to a fine start as Anthony Watson and Sam Simmonds both bagged doubles in their bonus-point win in Rome.
Eddie Jones’ side did not have it all their own way in the Stadio Olimpico, despite Watson’s double inside the first quarter of an hour.
The Italians showed some nice attacking touches throughout, Tommaso Benvenuti crossing in the first half and Mattia Bellini in the second.
But Owen Farrell, who finished the game with a personal haul of 16 points, crossed for England’s third before the interval and Simmonds secured the bonus point on the resumption.
Bellini’s second-half score gave Conor O’Shea’s side hope, but in the final quarter England added gloss to the scoreline as George Ford went over before Simmonds sped away for a second and set up Nowell for their seventh.
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England have won all 23 Tests against Italy – only failing to score a try in one of those matches – and it was they who struck first in Rome.
After the scrum had won an ominous penalty, the ball was worked off the top of the lineout to Ben Te’o who broke the gain line before it was spun right and George Ford combined with Farrell and Jonny May to release Watson who coasted over.
Farrell’s conversion hit the post and soon after the visitors saw Ben Youngs stretchered off with a knee injury but that couldn’t derail them.
And a second try did not take long in coming, May with the initial incision off his left wing before feeding Watson who did the rest – rounding Tommaso Boni and finishing in style for his second.
Again Farrell could not add the extras but at 10-0, Italy needed the next score to gain a foothold.
And it duly arrived when Bellini got free down the left to turn the English defence before the ball was spread right and a gorgeous Tommaso Allan pass hit Benvenuti in stride.
Allan was on target with his conversion and at 10-7, England did not have the lead that their dominance probably deserved.
However, it soon arrived as the visitors’ attack continued to click. Nice interplay down the right between Mako Vunipola and Dan Cole made inroads before Farrell darted over down the left.
The inside centre this time converted his own score for a 17-7 lead but just before the break the Azzurri did trim their deficit with an Allan penalty.
The second half began in equally thrilling fashion, Anthony Watson denied a hat-trick at one end by a marginal forward pass and Tommaso Boni the same at the other.
In between those two incidents, Farrell kicked another penalty to make it 20-10 and the fourth England try and a bonus point was not far away – Simmonds the scorer as the No.8 burst through a hole from a maul to dart over.
Farrell converted but Italy, with Boni and Tommaso Castello willing runners throughout, kept coming and Bellini did extremely well to finish their second try in the left corner.
Allan could not convert and as the game entered the final quarter, the Red Rose were 27-15 to the good.
Both sides were beginning to empty their benches, most notably England introducing Jack Nowell on the win as Watson shifted to full-back.
And the defending champions’ fifth try arrived in the 68th minute, Farrell again the creator on a perfect line to make the break before feeding Ford back on the inside.
In the final ten minutes the England finishers started to make an impact against a tiring Azzurri defence – first Simmonds burst clear for his second before the No.8 then released Nowell for England’s seventh.
Job done for England, whose attentions will now turn to Twickenham and the visit of Wales in round two while Italy can take plenty of positives on the road to Dublin.
