Italy 0-33 England: Visitors get Six Nations campaign back on track

Marcus Smith scored a try in successive Six Nations matches to help England cruise to victoryItaly: (0) 0England: (21) 33Tries: Smith, George 2, Daly, Sinckler; Cons: Smith 4

England got their Six Nations campaign back on track as they outclassed Italy to claim a bonus-point win in Rome.

Despite losing their opener in Scotland, Eddie Jones' England are now second in the table behind unbeaten France after two rounds.

England almost claimed a bonus point before half-time as Marcus Smith crossed and Jamie George scored twice.

Elliot Daly scored the fourth try after the break and Kyle Sinckler added another after a dip in intensity.

England's old and new shine

England head coach Jones had asked his players to "light up" Rome and they duly delivered as the visitors' pace overwhelmed their hosts.

With pre-match headlines focussing on 'new England', Henry Slade showed the older heads should not be overlooked as the centre released another experienced player, Jack Nowell, down the left wing.

A series of flat passes from Smith - growing into his role of England's starting 10 with every game - saw England pick their way through the Italy defence.

That move ended in a try for Smith after a slick exchange with Max Malins but at times England's attempts to put on a show led to handling errors that would be punished by any other side in such a tight championship.

Perennial wooden spoon side Italy, however, helped England's cause as they committed mistakes of their own and conceded eight penalties to the visitors' three in the first half.

After Nowell was permanently replaced by Daly because of a failed head injury assessment, young scrum-half Harry Randall showed what he can offer.

Randall's speedy work off a line-out got England on the front foot and after Maro Itoje's break, returning hooker George dived over for a try.

Smith showed his all-round prowess - and for the full 80 minutes - as he made sure England's forward dominance was rewarded with points as well as doing his bit defensively, hauling brawny winger Federico Mori into touch when he was in a position to score.

Smith kept on to revive attack

Smith picked up after the break where he had left off as his pinpoint pass met with Daly at full tilt for the bonus point that put them in front of Ireland in the table.

But then England's unshackled attack began to stutter.

Jones - criticised for replacing Smith when England were ahead in the Murrayfield loss - left the fly-half on for the whole match but introduced Ben Youngs in place of Randall.

Youngs now has 114 England caps, equalling the record for England men's appearances set by Jason Leonard.

But in Randall's absence the visitors' speed and intensity dropped.

Jones had asked his replacements to invoke the iconic image of Muhammad Ali standing over the defeated Sonny Lister in the closing stages.

Instead, England's impressive performance somewhat spluttered towards the end with the exception of two late moves.

Smith - with George Ford now next to him at inside centre - sent Malins through a gap and Sinckler was on the wing's shoulder to score under the posts.

The Harlequins playmaker's impressive step nearly set up another, but Slade could not ground the ball.

An immediate bounce back after the defeat in Scotland may have England fans thinking about a final-weekend showdown in Paris, but Wales and Ireland will pose significant hurdles at Twickenham before then.

Man of the match - Marcus Smith

Marcus Smith did not look like a player in his first Six Nations campaign as he guided England to a comfortable victory in Rome. The fly-half beat six defenders - more than any other player - in another promising attacking performance.

'We had to put on a show' - what they said

Marcus Smith on ITV: "I've never played here before, there was a special atmosphere, with loads of England fans having come out. We had to put a show on for them, we were a bit scrappy and credit to Italy but to score 33 points is always nice.

"To play alongside Harry [Randall] is special, we have a good connection off the field and I hope we have on it as well."

Eddie Jones told ITV: "Italy are a tough team and they keep coming. If we were a bit tidier with some of our work, some running lines, it could have been a big score. We are happy with that, now we move on to Wales.

"They [Italy] have played New Zealand and France and in the first half been in the game - and they were not in the game today. Marcus [Smith] did well, Harry Randall did some good things at the start and [Alex] Dombrandt had a really solid game."