England produced a dominant display to beat Italy 31-14 in a bonus-point victory in the Six Nations at Twickenham; England head coach Steve Borthwick believes his side are taking "positive steps" as they rebuild for the future
Monday 13 February 2023 06:54, UK
Steve Borthwick believes his side took "positive steps forward" as he secured his first win as England head coach with a dominant 31-14 display against Italy in the Six Nations, but admits they are "years away" from the likes of Ireland and France.
A first half dominated by England's pack and their driving maul, with Jack Willis, Ollie Chessum, and Jamie George all diving over from short range, laid the foundations for the hosts' afternoon at Twickenham as they went in at the break with a strong 19-0 lead.
Despite a fightback from Italy through Marco Riccioni and Alessandro Fusco, a penalty try plus a late effort from Henry Arundell was enough for the hosts to cruise to a solid win.
With a victory now in the bag, Borthwick was quick to praise his side's performance but knows they face tough challenges against the world's top-two sides Ireland and France in the weeks ahead.
Indeed, he believes England are years behind the likes of Andy Farrell's world No 1 side, who continue to fine-tune their performances in a World Cup year.
"These teams have been preparing and this is a final year of a four-year plan and they are just putting their finishing touches to it," said Borthwick.
"We are not in that situation. The way we approach our off-field situation is maximising every minute because we have to and the players have embraced that.
"We have got to build some strengths in this team and that is what we are trying to do. We are in the first layer of rebuilding this team.
"As we rebuild this team, we have got to find what works for this team.
"Today, we found some things that were successful but that doesn't mean we are going to use them in two weeks' time.
"Things aren't going to be perfect and we are going to make mistakes but I want to ask the players to find a way to win."
Despite the tough tasks ahead, Borthwick believes that his players are stepping up week on week and that will only continue as the championship unfolds.
"I think it was positive small steps forward. Credit to the players for working hard to make those improvements," Borthwick added.
"I am trying to rebuild this team and we have made some positive steps forward [in] the last few weeks.
"Ultimately again we conceded some opportunities to the opposition late in the game and we will have a good look at why.
"I thought Maro Itoje's performance stepped up today, and Ollie Chessum stepped up today.
"I think you are starting to see the players start to perform, to start to play well and there is some growth there."
Next up for England in the Six Nations is a trip to Cardiff to face a Wales side who are yet to record a victory in this year's tournament.
Despite Wales being on the back foot, England captain Owen Farrell knows his team can't become complacent as they head into round three.
"We have taken a step forward a week on [from the loss to Scotland] and we have got a couple weeks now in prep," said Farrell.
"When we meet up, we will be looking to take another step forward.
"I have never played an easy game in Wales. We will come together and see where we can improve."
England head to Cardiff on February 25 to face a struggling Wales who are yet to get a win in this year's championship (4.45pm). For Italy, a home clash awaits against Grand Slam hopefuls Ireland (2.15pm).
