England's interim coach Stuart Lancaster praised his side's composure as they battled back from 15-6 down to beat Italy 19-15 in Rome.
England coach delighted after his side complete comeback win
England's interim coach Stuart Lancaster praised his side's composure as they battled back from 15-6 down to beat Italy 19-15 in Rome.
The Azzurri scored two tries in as many minutes at the end of the first half after mistakes from England full-back Ben Foden first let in Giovanbattista Venditti and then Tomasso Benvenuti.
Italy edged further ahead with a Kristopher Burton penalty before England fly-half Charlie Hodgson scored his second charge-down try in as many weeks.
Owen Farrell kicked England to victory with a perfect display, landing four penalties and a tough conversion.
"We are delighted to get the win. We started well but then had a mad five minutes and came in down at half-time," Lancaster said.
"The most pleasing thing from that point of view was there was no sense of panic."
Addressing what changed after the break, Lancaster said: "We felt there were one or two areas to work on, particularly trying to move the ball, get the ball to the 10 early and get more intensity and tempo in the game.
"We were pleased to do that in the second half and delighted by the contribution the bench made. I thought Lee Dickson and Ben Morgan made a great impact.
"Owen (Farrell) was fantastic in terms of his temperament and his ability to step up and take those kicks, which kept our scoreboard ticking on.
"We talked during the week about trying to increase the tempo and intensity in the game.
"I thought Italy played extremely well and put us under a lot of pressure. They were very difficult conditions to play in.
"Overall we are pleased to get the win and looking forward to getting to Twickenham to play Wales in two weeks' time.
"Our aim is to improve week on week. It was probably less than three weeks ago we met as a group and started training together.
"We are still building and learning as we go. There will be a lot to take out of this performance and review."
Chargedown Charlie
Hodgson is developing a nickname of 'Chargedown Charlie' after he blocked kicks from Scotland fly-half Dan Parks last week and, today, Andrea Masi, to score crucial tries.
"I just try my best to get to the kicker and put pressure on him. It is not so much about practising, you just have to go for it and hope for the best," Hodgson said.
"To come back from 15-6 down and be successful shows what resolve we have."
Italy captain Sergio Parisse, named man of the match, admitted there was deep disappointment in the dressing room after missing a chance at history.
"It annoys me to lose to a poor England side," he said. "We had the chances today to beat England as it wasn't at its best. We had a big chance, but now we have to move on and prepare for the next two away matches.
"I'm convinced that we're on a good path and going forward."
