Jamie George insists England can challenge for title despite Italy struggle

England’s captain, Jamie George, has insisted his team can still challenge for the Six Nations title despite only narrowly defeating Italy on the opening weekend. George, leading his country for the first time, acknowledged the 27-24 victory fell well short of the standard of Ireland’s win in France on Friday but believes there is more to come from his squad.

“Absolutely,” he said, when asked if England could yet be in contention at the top end of this season’s table. “I don’t want anyone to be involved if they don’t genuinely believe we can challenge the best and win the tournament. Steve [Borthwick] has already talked about how fast we need to learn. We’re not going to paper over the cracks.”

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England’s next game is against Wales at Twickenham next Saturday, with George hoping for a performance closer to the standards set by Ireland in Marseille. “Ireland were very impressive, not many teams go to France and perform like that. It’s a blueprint for us or for any team to look at how they played and how they approached that game.

“We’re going to make sure we learn our lessons and be very clear about what we need to get out of this week. We’ve now got a great opportunity to be back at Twickenham in front of our own fans and really give them something to smile about.”

George, however, suggested Italy could yet surprise a few teams in the coming weeks. “I was very impressed with the way Italy approached the game. They’re going to give some sides some problems in this tournament. I wouldn’t be surprised if they get a couple of victories along the way.

“It could have been very easy for us to have gone ‘individual’ off the back of a couple of thunderbolt moments. What pleased me the most was that we found a solution.”

Borthwick also praised his side for not panicking after going 17-8 down in the first half. “I was very pleased the players found a way to get the result. There were areas we’ve improved upon from where we’ve been and it was brilliant to see five players making their debut in a Six Nations game, which doesn’t happen very often.

“Having said that there are plenty of areas that need to be better. We allowed Italy to score too easily and in that first half, while we had lots of possession in the attacking half, we didn’t break the line as much as we wanted to. We’ll be looking very closely at that. The midfield showed they could move the ball to the edges. [But] there’s always that balance between ball movement and creating momentum.

“We have a number of players who are very good at creating momentum but some of those are not available for selection. The midfield we have are going to get better the more they play together. Striking a balance between that and creating more momentum is going to be key for us.”

Borthwick also praised England’s five new caps, notably the man of the match, Ethan Roots. “It’s a special days for all five of them. They’ll be wearing the England shirt for a long time. Ethan Roots, in particular, looked very at home. To do that and play for 80 minutes was outstanding. You’ve got to remember this Italy side almost beat France in the opening fixture last season. Treviso sit second in the United Rugby Championship. This is a good side.”