Archive March 9, 2025

England (21) 47

Tries: Willis, Freeman, Sleightholme (2), M Smith, T Curry, Earl Cons: F Smith (6)

Italy (17) 24

England are best placed to take advantage of any final-day slip-up by Six Nations leaders France after they moved up to second in the Six Nations table with a seven-try victory over Italy at Allianz Stadium.

Wing Ollie Sleightholme crossed twice in an ultimately comfortable victory, but the hosts were made to sweat early on with Italy scoring two superb tries to stay within four points at half-time.

However, two scores in two minutes early in the second half, from replacement Marcus Smith and flanker Tom Curry, broke the visitors ‘ resistance and allowed England to see out the match in unusual comfort after a series of home cliff-hangers.

Tommaso Menoncello’s angled run repaired some of the damage, but was never going to switch the course of the contest.

However, England will be without centre Ollie Lawrence for their final-round trip to Cardiff after he was carried off with a serious-looking Achilles tendon injury, which could also affect his chances of joining this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour.

England will take on Wales in the second match of ‘ super ‘ Saturday on 15 March, kicking off at 16: 45 GMT at the Principality Stadium. They are one point behind France, who play Scotland in Paris later in the day, but 82 worse off in points difference.

Any pre-match thoughts of making significant inroads into France’s points difference advantage was pushed from Twickenham’s minds in the first half as the visitors shot back with accuracy and flair.

Tom Willis had battered over for the fastest try of the championship in a little over three minutes, while Elliot Daly – picked ahead of Smith at 15 – claimed well in the air and hit some good lines and the front row emerged from the first scrum with a penalty.

There was not to be a replica of France’s 11-try round-three rout of the visitors, though.

Italy full-back Capuozzo was the beneficiary for their first try as clever kicks ahead by Paolo Garbisi and Monty Ioane found space and pulled England’s defence out of shape.

Capuozzo later turned creator, thrillingly slicing through England with a scalpel-sharp change of direction to open up a route for Exeter’s Ross Vintcent to canter over.

England traded blow for blow with a cute Daly grubber, putting Tommy Freeman into the corner before good work from Ollie Chessum down one wing created space for Sleightholme to dive in the opposite corner.

They could easily have been behind on the scorecards at the start of the second half as well.

Italy surged straight into attack and wing Matt Gallagher was zeroing in on the corner, only to be chopped down by the covering Smith, on at 15.

A little over a minute later, Smith pelted up on Curry’s shoulder to take a pop-pass and scorch round Capuozzo to make it 28-17.

The passage proved to be a decisive swing in the momentum. Curry burrowed over two minutes later and Sleightholme had his second soon after when some improvised offloading, including by Jamie George on his 100th England appearance, beat the cover defence.

With Fin Smith slotting all six conversions in an impressive performance off the tee, England motored 42-17 clear.

England head coach Steve Borthwick told BBC Sport: “The injury to Ollie Lawrence resulted in an reorganisation of the backline but I thought the players managed that really well. It looks like he injured his Achilles but we don’t know to what extent.

” The way the team accelerated the scoreline was really good. This Italian side is really well coached and their battle at the breakdown is fierce. When we got quick ball and the contact area right, we took our opportunities.

England hooker Jamie George, whose mum Jane died in February 2024, spoke to BBC Sport about winning his 100th cap: “The whole week has been a little bit overwhelming. I am very thankful to everyone who has made it very special.

” My mum is on my mind all the time. She would have loved being here and will be looking down very proud today. It is an emotional day. I am super happy with the people who are here but do miss the one who isn’t.

“After missing the Ireland game I was just desperate to be out there, it reminded me how much I love playing for this team. I’ve had three amazing games.

“You have to be consistent for the whole 80 minutes and that’s the most important thing for us. We showed some pretty good things, especially in attack, but our mistakes put us under pressure.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Baxter, Heyes, T Hill, Cunningham-South, B Curry, Van Poortvliet, M Smith

Italy: Capuozzo, Ioane, Brex, Menoncello, Gallagher, P Garbisi, Varney, Fischetti, Nicotera, Riccioni, N Cannone, Ruzza, Negri, Lamaro (capt) Vintcent

Replacements: Lucchesi, Spagnolo, Ferrari, Favretto, Zuliani, L Cannone, Page-Relo, Allan

England (21) 47

Tries: Willis, Freeman, Sleightholme (2), M Smith, T Curry, Earl Cons: F Smith (6)

Italy (17) 24

England are best placed to take advantage of any final-day slip-up by Six Nations leaders France after they moved up to second in the Six Nations table with a seven-try victory over Italy at Allianz Stadium.

Wing Ollie Sleightholme crossed twice in an ultimately comfortable victory, but the hosts were made to sweat early on with Italy scoring two superb tries to stay within four points at half-time.

However, two scores in two minutes early in the second half, from replacement Marcus Smith and flanker Tom Curry, broke the visitors ‘ resistance and allowed England to see out the match in unusual comfort after a series of home cliff-hangers.

Tommaso Menoncello’s angled run repaired some of the damage, but was never going to switch the course of the contest.

However, England will be without centre Ollie Lawrence for their final-round trip to Cardiff after he was carried off with a serious-looking Achilles tendon injury, which could also affect his chances of joining this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour.

England will take on Wales in the second match of ‘ super ‘ Saturday on 15 March, kicking off at 16: 45 GMT at the Principality Stadium. They are one point behind France, who play Scotland in Paris later in the day, but 82 worse off in points difference.

Any pre-match thoughts of making significant inroads into France’s points difference advantage was pushed from Twickenham’s minds in the first half as the visitors shot back with accuracy and flair.

Tom Willis had battered over for the fastest try of the championship in a little over three minutes, while Elliot Daly – picked ahead of Smith at 15 – claimed well in the air and hit some good lines and the front row emerged from the first scrum with a penalty.

There was not to be a replica of France’s 11-try round-three rout of the visitors, though.

Italy full-back Capuozzo was the beneficiary for their first try as clever kicks ahead by Paolo Garbisi and Monty Ioane found space and pulled England’s defence out of shape.

Capuozzo later turned creator, thrillingly slicing through England with a scalpel-sharp change of direction to open up a route for Exeter’s Ross Vintcent to canter over.

England traded blow for blow with a cute Daly grubber, putting Tommy Freeman into the corner before good work from Ollie Chessum down one wing created space for Sleightholme to dive in the opposite corner.

They could easily have been behind on the scorecards at the start of the second half as well.

Italy surged straight into attack and wing Matt Gallagher was zeroing in on the corner, only to be chopped down by the covering Smith, on at 15.

A little over a minute later, Smith pelted up on Curry’s shoulder to take a pop-pass and scorch round Capuozzo to make it 28-17.

The passage proved to be a decisive swing in the momentum. Curry burrowed over two minutes later and Sleightholme had his second soon after when some improvised offloading, including by Jamie George on his 100th England appearance, beat the cover defence.

With Fin Smith slotting all six conversions in an impressive performance off the tee, England motored 42-17 clear.

England head coach Steve Borthwick told BBC Sport: “The injury to Ollie Lawrence resulted in an reorganisation of the backline but I thought the players managed that really well. It looks like he injured his Achilles but we don’t know to what extent.

” The way the team accelerated the scoreline was really good. This Italian side is really well coached and their battle at the breakdown is fierce. When we got quick ball and the contact area right, we took our opportunities.

England hooker Jamie George, whose mum Jane died in February 2024, spoke to BBC Sport about winning his 100th cap: “The whole week has been a little bit overwhelming. I am very thankful to everyone who has made it very special.

” My mum is on my mind all the time. She would have loved being here and will be looking down very proud today. It is an emotional day. I am super happy with the people who are here but do miss the one who isn’t.

“After missing the Ireland game I was just desperate to be out there, it reminded me how much I love playing for this team. I’ve had three amazing games.

“You have to be consistent for the whole 80 minutes and that’s the most important thing for us. We showed some pretty good things, especially in attack, but our mistakes put us under pressure.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Baxter, Heyes, T Hill, Cunningham-South, B Curry, Van Poortvliet, M Smith

Italy: Capuozzo, Ioane, Brex, Menoncello, Gallagher, P Garbisi, Varney, Fischetti, Nicotera, Riccioni, N Cannone, Ruzza, Negri, Lamaro (capt) Vintcent

Replacements: Lucchesi, Spagnolo, Ferrari, Favretto, Zuliani, L Cannone, Page-Relo, Allan

Champions Trophy final, Dubai

New Zealand 251-7 (50 overs): Mitchell 63 (101), Bracewell 53 (40), Kuldeep 2-40, Chakravarthy 2-45

India 254-6 (49 overs): Rohit 76 (83), Bracewell 2-28, Santner 2-46

India won by four wickets

India survived a New Zealand fightback to win the Champions Trophy with a four-wicket victory in Dubai.

India, dominant throughout the tournament, made a rampant start in pursuit of 252 only to lose three wickets for 17 runs, including captain Rohit Sharma for 76 and Virat Kohli for one.

Shreyas Iyer followed for 48 and Axar Patel holed out on 29 to leave 49 runs to get from 51 balls.

Hardik Pandya took India closer and, after he fell for 18, KL Rahul finished 34 not out as Ravindra Jadeja hit the winning runs with an over to spare.

That India always still felt ahead of the game was thanks to their spinners once again impressing by limiting New Zealand to 251-7.

Victory confirms India’s place as the world’s premier white-ball side.

Since being beaten in the final of the 2023 World Cup they have won the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy – a record third time they have won this event but first since 2013.

This tournament has flickered without ever catching light – much of the action overshadowed by the debate over the advantages India have had in playing all of their matches in Dubai.

In the end it got a tense finale – at least a finish closer than looked likely for much of the match.

First India’s spinners restricted and then Rohit charged.

Ultimately, India had to work, as hard as at any point in their unbeaten progression through this tournament, but their depth and quality is such that they were always favourites amid passionate support.

They were also freed by the T20 win last year, which ended their 13-year wait for a world title.

While it does not go all of the way to banishing the pain of the defeat in the final at home in 2023, it provides more silverware for the likes of Rohit and Kohli, who may not have continued in the format had they beaten Australia in Ahmedabad.

As has been the case throughout in Dubai, spin was far harder to face than pace.

Chasing a below-par score, Rohit pulled the second ball of the innings for six and dominated a stand of 105 with fellow opener Shubman Gill.

New Zealand’s fightback was sparked by a stunning one-handed catch by Glenn Phillips – his third such grab of the tournament – at extra cover to dismiss Gill for 31.

Kohli, usually the master of these chases, went lbw to off-spinner Michael Bracewell and Rohit was stumped when advancing to left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra.

The partnership of 61 between Axar and Iyer was important in steadying India, although both fell trying to accelerate. Iyer, having already been dropped, flicked to short fine leg and Axar tamely punted to long-on to give Santner and Bracewell a further wicket each.

However, the required run-rate was always under control. It only ever nudged slightly above a run per ball as Rahul remained calm, before Hardik pumped a towering straight six with the winning line in sight.

New Zealand started well after opting to bat, reaching 57-0 in the eighth over, but the introduction of spin again brought greater threat.

In Varun Chakravarthy’s second over, Ravindra overturned a caught behind decision and was dropped at deep square-leg before Will Young was pinned lbw for 15.

Kuldeep Yadav then bowled Ravindra with his first delivery for 37 and forced Kane Williamson to chip back for 11, leaving New Zealand 75-3, from which point the scoring stalled.

There were two separate spells of 10 overs without a boundary and only four boundaries came in the middle-over period – the least by any team in the tournament so far – as India’s spinners targeted the stumps and the batters struggled to get the ball away.

The first five wickets all fell to spin, with Tom Latham missing a sweep to be lbw to Jadeja and Chakravarthy bowling Phillips for 34 amid the struggle.

India batter Virat Kohli: “It’s an amazing feeling, lovely to be playing with such amazing youngsters. So much talent in the dressing room and they’re taking Indian cricket forward in the right direction.

” These guys are stepping up in a massive way and that’s why we’re such a strong team. “

India captain Rohit Sharma:” We’ve played some really good cricket throughout the tournament. To come out here and win it is great.

“The crowd has been magnificent. It’s not our home ground but they’ve made it our home ground”.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner: “It’s been a good tournament. We faced some challenges along the way but we’ve grown as a group. We played some good cricket but we fell short to a better team.