Matt Dawson names three standout players in England win vs Italy

RUCK’s 2024 Guinness Six Nations content 

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Under the guidance of Steve Borthwick, the English squad dominated the second half, staging a remarkable comeback in Rome.

The turnaround commenced with Alex Mitchell's crucial try after the break, flipping the scoreline in England's favor. George Ford's precise kicking further solidified their lead, securing the hard-fought win.

Despite a valiant effort from the Azzurri, with Alessandro Garbisi and Tommaso Allan scoring alongside an Elliot Daly finish for the visitors, England emerged victorious.

In his insightful analysis featured in his BBC column, Dawson acknowledged that there is room for improvement under Borthwick's leadership.

However, he highlighted the outstanding performances of the three players who played pivotal roles in the match, contributing significantly to England's success.

Dawson wrote: "Roots was not just a trundle of muscle. He has clever footwork and the ability to find little gaps. He makes the opposition think very carefully about how they defend. He is careful about how he avoids contact, which he probably gets from his mixed martial arts experience."

Dawson wrote: "Freeman wanders around, picks his moment and hits lovely lines. You can't actually coach the line he ran for Elliot Daly's try - he has that instinct to read the play, which happens very quickly at this level, and he seems comfortable. 

"While he may not have the blistering pace of someone like Jonny May he brings so many different dimensions to broken-phase possession."

Dawson wrote: "Mitchell injected a lot of pace into the match and is developing his game to take it to another level. There is a marked difference between him and any of the other scrum-halves, who have to catch up."

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Rugby Pass 1/10: "Got one point for running onto the pitch because after that it was a disaster for the lock forward. Lucky to get a yellow for his hit on Andrew Porter, he didn’t learn his lesson after 10 minutes contemplation and another hit to the head of an opponent, he left the referee with no option but to end his contest. Dumb."

Planet Rugby 2/10: "“How do you want us to tackle?” were the words the second-rower asked before being issued his second yellow card and subsequent red. The answer is simple: lower Paul, lower."

Telegraph 1/10: "The first hit was silly enough but to commit exactly the same offence six minutes after returning to the field, after a get-out-jail-free card, bordered on lunacy. France’s hopes of victory departed with him."

Rugby Pass 4/10: " His performance was summed up when he caught a stray Corey Domachowski foot at the back of a ruck to give up an easy turnover. Subbed for Tomos Williams at half-time."

Wales Online 4/10: "The experienced Scarlets scrum-half was a victim of Wales' struggles up-front, and was pressured into making errors at the base of the ruck. There were also a few wayward box kicks which put his side under pressure while he failed to spark Wales into life in attack."

Rugby Pass 3.5/10: "A player with the patience of Job waiting for this Test debut, given the number of squads he was involved in without even playing, he encountered a baptism of fire defensively and will likely be a fall guy in the inner sanctum post-mortem."

Planet Rugby 5/10: "Won’t like the missed tackle for Monty Ioane’s try in a debut performance where there wasn’t too much to shout about."

Telegraph 5/10: "Grew into the game on his debut but fell off the tackle badly for Ioane’s try. England also need to involve him more as a ball carrier."

RUCK 5/10: "Dingwall, long-awaited for his Test debut, struggled a lot in the opening 40. Improved in the second half."

Rugby Pass 3/10: "You’d expect a degree of maturity from the second-most capped player in the side. There was none on show when Adams petulantly threw the ball into the crowd to give away a stupid penalty in the first half. If only that was his only blight on his record. Couldn’t get anywhere near a high kick, was turned over twice in the first in the first half and lacked grunt on the rare ball he saw."

Rugby Pass 4/10: "More like Jonathan Dainty in the first half and dreadfully exposed for the second Irish try by Beirne which left him waving helplessly as he fell to the ground. This is the kind of performance that gets you dropped and he can expect plenty of stick from the home media."

Planet Rugby 4/10: "The centre will not want to watch the replay of Tadhg Beirne’s try which came as a result of a poor read and lazy effort to cover space. He was ineffective at the breakdown by his standards and will be desperate to improve on his effort next week."

Telegraph 4/10: "The wrecking ball, as destructive a centre as any last year, was neutralised by Aki and looked all at sea."