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Despite the brave Italian defence in the game against Ireland we all know this is going to be a crushing victory for an unchanged England squad. The England pack will know this is not going to be an easy battle, they will feel the pain of every scrum they go in to, but as arguably the most powerful pack in world rugby they should look to prove how dominant they can be, and set England's exciting backs away to score plenty of tries, unlike the Irish side who seemed uninspiring in their victory against the Azzurri.
The Italians bring 35 year old Mauro Bergamasco, the greatest scrum-half the world has ever seen, and 34 year old Marco Bortolami back into their squad, the veterans looking to bring some experience and grit to the Italian side, and since Michele Campagnaro is out through injury Andrea Masi moves to 12, Luca Moriso to 13 and Luke McLean moves to fullback and Venditti come in to the left wing a complete reshuffle of the backs that offered so little against the Irish.
England will be happy to field the same side that put in an impressive performance against the Welsh on Friday, which could have been more impressive than the 16-21 victory suggested, a side that scored as many tries against the South Africa beating Welsh as Ireland did against Italy. England will look to build on last years impressive 11-52 victory over the Italians with a tighter defence and more flair in attack, unleashing Joseph and the pace of Watson and May. Ford will have an easier game than last week with little pressure on him and the backing of the home crowd, he will have more freedom to show why he deserves a man of the match award, rather than the headline making MOTM he was given against Wales.
Parisse will be giving it his all in front of the Twickenham crowd, but it won't be enough to avoid a repeat of the slaughter of last year. England will be disappointed if they concede a try to an inoffensive Italian side who offer little to nothing in the backs, apart from Gori who looked quite sharp, however he will be nullified by the England back row, and I think the Italians will be made to look quite useless out there on Saturday. Unlike the Welsh, the English can offer physicality and more, and will use this variety to obliterate the Italian team.
After the 41 point victory last year away from home I can see a repeat in terms of the margin of victory. That day, England were spurred on by the potential to win the 6 Nations championship on points difference, so put the Italians to the sword. This time around it won't be so necessary, but they will look to put on a convincing performance, especially after the Irish only managed two tries and failed to pounce on the chance to get some points to help their overall points difference, which proved so crucial last year. The English backs have more attacking flair than last year, which suggests more points to come, especially with Ford conducting, but given the lack of importance I expect them to coast to a 40 point victory.
After the 41 point victory last year away from home I can see a repeat in terms of the margin of victory. That day, England were spurred on by the potential to win the 6 Nations championship on points difference, so put the Italians to the sword. This time around it won't be so necessary, but they will look to put on a convincing performance, especially after the Irish only managed two tries and failed to pounce on the chance to get some points to help their overall points difference, which proved so crucial last year. The English backs have more attacking flair than last year, which suggests more points to come, especially with Ford conducting, but given the lack of importance I expect them to coast to a 40 point victory.
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