Stuart Lancaster was not getting carried away by the 30-point victory against Italy any more than he was by the opening-round victory against Wales in Cardiff. “We made another slow start and I had to give the players a bit of a rev-up at half-time,” England’s head coach said. “We needed to increase the intensity and we did that against a side full of passion and determination.”
England moved to the top of the Six Nations table to set up a potential title decider against the champions, Ireland, 18-11 victors against France at the Aviva Stadium, in Dublin in two weeks’ time. Lancaster said: “We know, though, that we are going to have to step it up against Ireland. We played some excellent rugby today in a 20 to 30-minute period and that is what we need to maintain.”
England have finished second in the three previous Six Nations campaigns of Lancaster’s tenure as head coach, losing one match each time. But they have not lost to Ireland in that time and yesterday’s six-try defeat of Italy at Twickenham boosted their points difference, which has decided the championship in the past two seasons.
“We did well in a number of areas,” Lancaster said, “such as the set pieces and defence, but we gave a couple of penalties away at the breakdown and [Ireland’s fly-half] Jonathan Sexton will make us pay for that in Dublin. That is why we have to improve again.
Lancaster praised the contribution of the veteran Nick Easter, who at 36 became the Five/Six Nations’ oldest tryscorer. “I was pleased with the impact made from the bench by Nick Easter, who brought the intensity we needed, Tom Youngs and Kieran Brookes,” Lancaster said. But he was less forthcoming about the contribution of Danny Cipriani, who scored a try with his first touch after coming off the bench for his first appearance at Twickenham since playing New Zealand in 2008.
Lancaster also revealed that the injured Mike Brown, who was replaced after England followed rugby’s concussion protocols, was unhappy at sitting out 70 minutes of the game. “I saw him after the game and he seemed fine, if a bit grumpy because he had to miss most of the game. He sustained the injury saving a try. I do not know if he was knocked out, but all the protocols will be followed before he returns to action.”
It was Italy’s seventh straight defeat in the tournament and they have yet to beat England. “People are questioning whether we should be in the Six Nations, but we deserve to be here,” said their captain, Sergio Parisse. “We have been beaten in the last two weeks by Ireland and England, the best two teams in the tournament. We will stay strong and keep working hard.
