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shortly afterwards. From a lineout outside the home 22 on the right, Sam Simmonds broke
away from a ruck and showcased his pace and footwork by carving through to claim his
maiden Test try.
When Farrell converted again and the English lead was up to 17 points, that appeared to
signal the end of the contest, but O’Shea’s men had other ideas. An attacking lineout gave
them the platform and after a strong pack drive, they shifted the attack left and Matteo
Minozzi’s long pass freed Bellini to touch down, despite Mike Brown’s last-ditch attempt to
force him into touch.
However, England have been ruthless and deadly in the final quarter of matches and they
demonstrated that streak again this time. First, George Ford and Farrell combined well for
the umpteenth time in the game, for Ford to touch down.
Then Simmonds gave another exhibition of his acceleration to leave the home defence
floundering, on the way to his second try, before the Exeter No 8’s blind pass sent clubmate
Jack Nowell over for England’s seventh try.
It was a devastating flourish, to cap a fine performance away from home. On this evidence,
English hopes of a three-peat appear well justified.
England fly-half Ford loops around his inside centre Farrell, who missed both of his early
conversion attempts on Sunday
Saracens talisman Farrell brings down Italy full-back Matteo Minozzi during an actionpacked
first half at the Stadio Olimpico
New Zealand-born forward Dean Rudd rises highest at the lineout as Italy look to regain a
foothold in the Six Nations clash
Watson had the chance to score his third try of the game early in the second half but the
wing dropped the ball over the line