No one expected it to be easy for Italy. No one expected it to be anything other than straightforward for England. The Red Roses duly achieved a resounding six-try win in launching their attempt at a seventh successive title, but after scoring five first-half tries they stuttered after the break and waited until two minutes from time for a second-half score. “We left a bit out there,” the head coach, John Mitchell, conceded.
England’s hot streak now stretches to 21 consecutive matches, since after the World Cup final defeat by New Zealand in 2022, but there was ultimately a lack of fluency here in York that may concern Mitchell, who celebrated his 61st birthday and ushered in what may become a special year with a win.
In 152 days’ time, England begin a home Rugby World Cup against the USA at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. It is inconceivable they could suffer the same fate of the men’s side of a decade ago, when Stuart Lancaster’s team failed to make it out of the pool. But they are sure to be tested in the tournament’s later stages, so this Six Nations will be about refining combinations and systems. After an uncertain start, Italy improved markedly, while England’s accuracy was not what they would have hoped.
“It was a really good performance,” Mitchell said. “The objective was to build pressure on Italy … We started really well but we also knew we’d go through a period of the game when we’d have to work our way through it.
“We let them off with a bit of poor execution but generally, I thought we stuck at it … I just think [it’s] combinations, getting used to each other.”
The captain, Zoe Aldcroft, born down the road in Scarborough, said it was a “super special” day. “The crowd were fantastic and there were a lot of familiar faces which was lovely,” the blindside flanker said.
“The first half was really good, just then a little bit of [poor] execution. They had some good carries second-half and maybe we could have matched that. We’ll work on everything in that second half.”
A blend of Italian nervousness and English precision led to a try bonus point being wrapped up before the half-hour. An errant Beatrice Rigoni pass gifted England an attacking scrum after which Mia Venner, on full debut, got the hosts up and running after three minutes, the full-back Emma Sing converting.
Emily Scarratt scored the second and, although the excellent Rosie Galligan then knocked on in seemingly scoring a third, the Italy hooker Laura Gurioli was sent to the sin-bin for coming in at the side and a penalty try was awarded anyway. Holly Aitchison soon pumped a high kick to Claudia MacDonald, who snaffled it and scurried around the cover to score.
Scrum-caps off to Italy, though, they refused to buckle, and on their first visit to England’s 22 they shoved the No 8 Francesca Sgorbini over the try‑line. When Amy Cokayne added a fifth try before half-time no one would have believed that England would subsequently remain scoreless until the 78th minute. But that is what happened. Sgorbini was later denied a second try owing to an infringement by Beatrice Veronese.
Mitchell, who revealed after the game that he has confirmed internally his selection for the first two matches, including the visit to Cardiff next week, began to unload his bench, and the appearance of Hannah Botterman and Sarah Bern was ominous for Italy.
With a quarter of an hour left, though, the contest had become scrappy and the crowd were contemplating a second Mexican wave. The introduction of Ellie Kildunne, another Yorkshire-born Red Rose and the women’s world player of the year in 2024, visibly lifted home supporters.
Jade Shekells and Flo Robinson also came off the bench for their debuts. Bern was soon rampaging through the middle, leading to Sadia Kabeya touching down, and England’s frustration appeared to have been relieved. But the television match official pulled it back for a forward pass.
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Sing finally succeeded in adding a sixth England try, completing an individual haul of 11 points, and the crowd went home satisfied. Job done and a victory to kick off a significant year. But Mitchell and his squad would have hoped for more after such a dominant first half.
The Italy front-row Sara Seye said: “We had a good chat at half-time. We spoke about defence. We said we had to do the basics right and keep building … You know they’re a good side, with good players coming off the bench. You just have to get your mind off of that and be yourself – be Italy.”
Expanding on his two-week selection policy, and what lies ahead before the World Cup, Mitchell added: “I like to plan. It would be stupid not to plan with what’s ahead in the year. A lot of thought’s gone into this, and we’ll be a better group for making sure everyone has purpose. We built pressure [today] but we also got some great examples of having to take some punches and deal with it.
“We’ve got a squad that’s got started [against Italy], and another group that’s ready to go again next week. It’s all good. The Red Roses don’t sit still.” It wasn’t perfect, but England and Mitchell may be grateful for having had a proper test.
