With both the Men and Women teams reigning six nations champions. Round 1 was the start of both England teams defence of their titles and they certainly did not dissapoint.
Men's
Score: Italy 15 - 46 England
England started this game as they meant to go on. Two Early tries from Anthony Watson saw England lead from the get go. A change to last years Six nation encounter between the two sides, when Italy led 5-10 at half time.
It is worth noting, this lead was down to the much discussed breakdown tactic that Italy adopted in the England-Italy Clash at Twickenham in 2017. Italy had not committed any men to the breakdown beyond the initial tackler, meaning there was no ruck formed so the offside was inapplicable. Italian defenders could therefore stand between England's half-backs with no rules broken, causing confusion for everyone, players, coaches and fans alike. England Rugby Coach Eddie Jones described the tactic as 'very clever' but 'It wasn't rugby'
I digress, back to the 2018 clash and the England Men went from strength to strength, with Exeter's Sam Simmonds having an incredible Six Nations debut with two tries, was England's leading tackler with 23 tackles and he made the most meters and clean breaks in the match. For me Sam was the Man of the Match, but the award went to inside centre, Owen Farrell
Injury: Ben Young is out for the rest of the Six Nations with a rupture of the medial collateral in his left knee.
Women's
Score: Italy 7 - 42 England
It was a slow start for England. An initial Try by Englands Sarah Bern, was matched by Italy's Valentine Rozza, leaving the score 7 - 7 at half time in Rome.
However the second half, the England Women showed just what they were made of and the tries kept coming.
Katy Daley-Mclean kicked off the comeback in the second half with a penalty, putting England back in front and that's were England stayed.
England Captain, No. 8, Sarah Hunter shone scoring a hat trick, cementing Englands win with her final try.
A Bonus point win for both teams. Next Stop Twickenham to face Wales.
Next Fixtures:
Saturday 10th February
England vs Wales
12:15 - Women
16:45 - Men
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