England were made to work to avoid their first-ever defeat to Italy in the opening match of the 2024 Six Nations.
The Italians have been serial whipping boys of the Six Nations over the years, picking up the unwanted wooden spoon 18 times since the turn of the century.
But they had renewed optimism heading into the 2024 Six Nations with a home clash against Steve Borthwick's side.
England are in a transitional period under Borthwick with long-time captain Owen Farrell stepping down from international duty after the World Cup.
England came back from a losing position to win
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A host of key players have also become ineligible to play for England having chosen to move overseas.
That raised question marks on what England were going to look like at this year's Six Nations and the Italians took full advantage in the early stages of their opening match.
Italy raced to a 10-0 lead after Alessandro Garbisi carried the ball over the line after Italy broke through England's soft defensive line.
The boot of George Ford once again stopped the rot for England and helped get them back on track in the first half.
Centre Elliot Daly then grabbed England's first try of the match to pull England within two points, only for Italy to restore their commanding lead through Tommaso Allan.
The Italian's lack of discipline allowed England back into the match before the break with Ford sending two more penalty kicks over the posts to keep them in the game.
But it was the first time any Italian side had led at the break in the Six Nations since 2022 against Wales - their last victory at the tournament.
It was arguably Italy's best chance to end their 31-year wait to finally beat England for the first time in their history.
England managed to hold off Italy
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But England came out a different side in the second half and Alex Mitchell gave them their first lead of the match just five minutes into the restart.
Ford converted two more penalty kicks throughout the half to open up a 10-point lead over the Italians.
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George Ford's boot saved England in the end
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England were unable to find another score for an all-important bonus point.
But there was still time for Italy to add one more try before the final whistle and secure a point for their troubles.
Monty Ioane raced down the wing with England players failing to stop him with Italy losing by just three points in the end.
