Italy 24-27 England - England overturn half-time deficit to kick off Six Nations campaign with win in Rome

England survived a storming Italian start to earn their first opening-day Six Nations win in five years by beating the Azzurri 27-24 in Rome.

Tries from Alessandro Garbisi and Tommaso Allan either side of an Elliot Daly score helped give an impressive Italian side a three-point half-time lead on head coach Gonzalo Quesada’s debut.

But Alex Mitchell danced over the line early in the second half to edge England ahead for the first time, and George Ford’s boot kept the scoreboard moving as the visitors stifled their opponents and moved 10 points ahead.

With Daly and Italy captain Michele Lamaro in the sin bin, Monty Ioane turned on the afterburners with the clock red to score Italy’s third try and ensure an encouraging Italian performance was at least rewarded with a losing bonus point.

For England, making their first appearance since finishing third at the World Cup, they escaped Rome with a victory but without a precious try-scoring bonus point after a performance full of grunt but still lacking in longed-for flair.

There were high hopes about what a new-look England team might offer in this Six Nations, but Saturday’s opener offered both positives and negatives.

Flanker Ethan Roots impressed on debut and some of their attacking moves - particularly when the electric Tommy Freeman was involved - got fans off their seats as England fought back to silence the home crowd and end a five-year wait to win an opening Six Nations game.

But there were still plenty of familiar faults, particularly in attack where they only managed to cross the try line twice despite long periods in Italian territory, and three tries conceded will concern the defensive coaches too no doubt.

The England flanker received the award after a debut packed with physicality, hard carries and hitting rucks. In a game that was not full of flashy flair, Roots’ hard graft was invaluable.

Italy: Allan 7, Pani 6, Brex 7, Menoncello 7, Ioane 7, P. Garbisi 7, A. Garbisi 7; Fischetti 6, Lucchesi 6, Ceccarelli 6, N. Cannone 6, Ruzza 7, Negri 6, Lamaro 6, L. Cannone 7

Subs: Nicotera 6, Spagnolo 6, Zilocchi 6, Zambonin 6, Izekor 6, Zuliani 6, Varney 6, Mori 6

England: Steward 7, Freeman 7, Slade 6, Dingwall 6, Daly 7, Ford 7, Mitchell 7; Marler 6, George 6, Stuart 6, Itoje 6, Chessum 6, Roots 7, Underhill 6, Earl 6

Subs: Dan 6, Obano 6, Cole 6, Coles 6, Cunningham-South 7, Care 6, F. Smith 6, Feyi-Waboso 6

Superb score from Italy! And it's no less than they deserve. Brex goes on a barnstorming break and offloads neatly to L. Cannone, who bounces off one tackle before feeding A. Garbisi, who dives over to score under the posts. Allan converts and Italy have a healthy early lead here.

21’ TRY! ITALY 10-8 ENGLAND (DALY)

What a response from England! That was a terrific score and some of the more free-flowing rugby the team have been talking about playing. Daly is sent over the line after a great line from Freeman carves open the Italian defence. Ford's conversion is wide of the mark, though, so Italy retain the lead.

Another SENSATIONAL Italian try! This time they run it in from inside their own half, Menoncello showing lightning pace before offloading to Allan for a simple finish. England caught completely off guard there. Allan adds two from the boot and the Azzurri have a healthy lead again!

England keep coming and have the foot on the throat here as they muscle their way into the Italian 22. Mitchell goes on a burst and with two options to his left, chooses to go alone, twisting and turning and squirming over the try line. England lead for the first time! Italy won't want to watch that back, far too many missed tackles.

86’ TRY! ITALY 22-27 ENGLAND (IOANE)

They've done it! Incredible from Italy as they finish with a flourish to secure the losing bonus point in style. A long series of phases, including offloads, cross-kicks and more, ends with Ioane turning on the afterburners on the right wing and gliding past English defenders to dive over the try line. Garbisi slots the conversion and that's that.

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