England will face Wales in Cardiff next Saturday with the opportunity of winning their first Six Nations Grand Slam in a decade after stuttering to an 18-11 victory over Italy.
For that alone head coach Stuart Lancaster will be relieved but England will have to improve vastly on this error-strewn performance if they are to create a slice of history and wrestle the trophy away from Welsh hands.
England could have effectively wrapped it up yesterday, had they put Italy to the sword in the manner of all previous encounters at Twickenham but in the end they were clinging on for the win.
Lancaster’s men will head across the Severn Bridge with a points-difference cushion of just 14. There will be all to play for at the Millennium Stadium.
Toby Flood kicked England to victory with six penalties, overtaking Jonathan Webb as the third highest points scorer, but he kept his side out of jail.
This was England’s worst performance of the championship, devoid of composure and accuracy. They blew three golden try-scoring opportunities and ended the game on their knees, defending for their lives.
The fact there was not a spark of celebration on the field, and ripples of boos off it summed up how poor England were in the face of an Azzurri side who grew in belief and confidence off the back of red rose mistakes.
Italy scored the only try of the game through Luke McLean and they could have led had Luciano Orquera not missed the conversion and a subsequent penalty.
Flood’s boot saved England’s bacon but it is Wales who are licking their lips. No longer are they just hoping to ruin England’s Grand Slam, they have a title to retain.
England captain Chris Robshaw admitted improvements were needed before their Grand Slam showdown with Wales. Assessing both the match and the chance of a first Grand Slam since 2003, Robshaw said: “Of course it was (disappointing), but it was important to get a win.
“We were under no illusion how hard it would be, especially after how hard it was in Rome last year. We weren’t great today but it’s a win at the end of the day.
“There were moments when we played very well and the attack was flowing but the final bit of exe-cution let us down.
“There’s a lot of work to do going into Wales next weekend.”
Lancaster was honest about the need for a better showing from his side in Cardiff come Saturday.
Asked if he felt it was the most disappointing display of the tour-nament to date, he said: “Yes, I think so. In the second half there was no doubt about that.
“At half-time we weren’t quite accurate enough but we still felt in control of the game, but I felt we let that control slip and Italy pushed us right to the end.
“We have to improve on that performance and it will be a massive step for us. We got the win but it’s a quiet changing room and we’ll take the lessons out of this.
“It’s set up for a fantastic occa-sion (against Wales).”
Standings
England (4-0-0) 8; Wales (3-0-1) 6; Scotland (2-0-2) 4; Ireland (1-1-2) 3; Italy (1-0-3) 2; France (0-1-3) 1.
March 16: Italy vs Ireland; Wales vs England; France vs Scotland.