15 Mike Brown 5/10 The latest to fall victim to concussion, after a couple of early tackles. The medics were on in a flash, so let’s give them a 7.
14 Anthony Watson 6/10 Handled the early shift to full-back well. His feet are fast and he made good yardage. Missed a couple of tackles, though, and was caught in possession.
13 Jonathan Joseph 8/10 So he’s an option on the wing as well, and why wouldn’t he be? Shredded Italy with his pace and power. Expect him to feature more .
12 Luther Burrell 6/10 Pretty good. One loose pass was intercepted early on but he was physical and freed his hands well for the odd off-load.
11 Jonny May 5/10 Came into his own as the game unwound – a serious athlete. But when it was tighter his composure deserted him a couple of times .
10 George Ford 7/10 His kicking early on kept Italy in check, and his distribution and pace were to the fore when Italy were opened up. Did not miss a tackle .
9 Ben Youngs 7/10 Early wobble but recovered well to play a key role. Sound kicking game, alert to opportunity, including for his well-taken try from a tap penalty.
1 Joe Marler 7/10 Led tackle count among the front row and did a fair amount of tidying up around the collisions. Part of a scrum that dominated.
2 Dylan Hartley 5/10 Early wobble at lineout, otherwise sound as always and scrummaged well. Quiet around the field – not that that is a bad move for him.
3 Dan Cole 6/10 Scrummaging was very strong, which is no small feat against this lot. Not getting round field as he used to, but he has only just returned from injury.
4 Dave Attwood 6/10 A lineout presence on a messy day for both sides, including the take for England’s first try. Good gallop in second half. Missed the odd tackle.
5 George Kruis 6/10 England’s main lineout target, and industrious round the field. Already looks comfortable at this level, which is some achievement for a fifth choice.
6 James Haskell 7/10 Another all action display, with plenty of errors but finished in credit after a high tackle count and some punchy carries.
7 Chris Robshaw 8/10 Forget the rubbish spoken about whether he’s a No7. He’s a brilliant, all-round forward who does everything. Almost always gets a mark of 8.
8 Billy Vunipola 7/10 He may not be the most rounded and composed of players, but it’s a question of physics – big, fast men will always do damage.
REPLACEMENTS
Billy Twelvetrees (Brown 13) distribution great and high tackle count 6; Tom Youngs (Hartley 59); Kieron Brookes (Cole 59); Mako Vunipola (Marler 63); Tom Croft (Haskell 63); Danny Cipriani (Ford 63); Richard Wigglesworth (B Youngs 66)
ITALY
L McLean 7; L Sarto 6, L Morisi 8, A Masi 6, G Venditti 3; K Haimona 4, E Gori 6; A De Marchi 5, L Ghiraldini 4, M Castrogiovanni 6, G Biagi 5, M Bortolami 7, F Minto 6, M Bergamasco 3, S Parisse 6
Replacements J Furno (Bortolami 46); A Manici (Ghiraldini 59); M Agüero (De Marchi 59); D Chistolini (Castrogiovanni 59); S Vunisi (Bergamasco 59); T Allan (Haimona 70); G Palazzani (Gori 70); G Bisegni (Sarto 70)
