Five things we learned from England's win over Italy

Special day for Jamie George capped by a stellar performance.

The Saracens hooker excelled on a proud day for the newly crowned centurion. George had considered retirement when he was removed as captain in favour of Maro Itoje before the start of the tournament but has shone during recent displays, shoring up England’s previously shaky lineout. His accurate darts and neat offloads suggest he won’t be giving up the England No.2 jersey anytime soon.

Italy’s leaky defence continues

Gonzalo Quesada took over from Kieran Crowley hoping to fix their turnstile like defence but they’ve been caught conceding an abundance of tries in recent weeks with last week’s 11-try demolition at home to France followed by seven more against England.

England remove handbrake and click into gear

It was what captain Itoje promised in the build up and the Saracens skipper proved true to his word. It would have been easy for England to return to their shell after picking up the imperative four-try bonus point but the scores in the second half reflected a change of attitude towards a more ruthless attacking approach. Albeit against a pretty poor defence.

Italy possess enough flair in their forwards and backs to trouble anyone

Ange Capuozzo was at his hot stepping, potent best in the first half which will come to no surprise to regular watchers of the Top 14 but what was astounding was the pace of Italy’s back row. Exeter Chiefs forward Ross Vintcent beat numerous England players on his way to scoring, while Manuel Zuliani’s energetic break set the platform for Tomasso Menoncello’s try.

England go to Cardiff in search of title glory

It’s the first time since 2020 England go into the final day with a shot of being crowned champions of Europe. They require a huge favour from their arch rivals Scotland who have to triumph in Paris and that’s after they must register another four-try bonus point win at a much improved Wales under new head coach Matt Sherratt.