After the staggeringly accurate prediction of England to beat Wales by 7 points gave academic credence to the wild, inane ramblings contained within this blog, England to beat Italy by 15 points has shattered those efforts.
England 59-13 Italy - given the struggles that England have previously had against the men in blue, this was a consummate performance from a team who must surely now be thinking that anything less than the Six Nations crown will be a disappointment.
England Player Ratings
15: Ben Foden: 6
Solid under the high-ball, with some nice distribution, but failed to score or make a name for himself when his lighting feet and change of pace could have seen him score. Ghosted round a number of Italian backs on occasion but will be unhappy to not have got a try.
14: Chris Ashton: 9
What team is going to be able to stop the former rugby league star? His support lines are a thing of beauty and the timing of his runs are better than anyone else in European rugby. He tore Italy to pieces with his first, and that set the tone for the afternoon. His swallow-dives may incur the wrath of Martin Johnson, but nobody will begrudge the young man who seems to have a permanent smile on his face.
13: Mike Tindall: 8
A wonderful all-round performance from the England captain. Often criticized for being little more than a defensive lump, he showed moments of class with ball in hand. He is leading the team well so far in this championship and he seems to be raising his game accordingly. He doesn't have the pace of Tait or the silky skills of Ollie Barkley but he still has the brains, strength and desire that he possessed in 2003.
12: Shontayne Hape: 8
His best performance in an England shirt so far. His strength in the tackle and his ability to offload under pressure allowed England to explode into the spaces left by the sluggish Italian defence. Most would still like to see the return of British Lion (and New Zealander, obviously) Riki Flutey, but Hape is slowly winning over the critics.
11: Mark Cueto: 8
The Sale man will be happier than anyone to have got himself on the score sheet after a drought of 19 matches without scoring for England. A player whose work ethic, aggression and bravery shine out in every performance, a try is the least he deserved after excellent performances in the November tests. Replaced by Banahan earlier than he would have liked, it will be interesting if his own try or Wayne Rooney's spectacular effort go in the Manchester United fan's scrapbook tonight.
Banahan is a very different type of player, but did well after coming on. The Jersey giant is not the most popular choice of winger for England, but it is hard to argue that the man who genuinely looks like he belongs in Braveheart doesn't strike a tinge of apprehension into opposition defences. Also showed some real pace to get away from the attentions of Bergamasco to release Ashton for his final try.
10: Toby Flood: 8
Another flashy performance from the England no.10. He seems to be finding more and more time on the ball, delivering it with more confidence and showing a turn of pace rarely seen from him in an England shirt. He is now THE England fly-half.
9: Ben Youngs: 6You know you haven't had your best game when Danny Care makes a positive impact upon his arrival. Youngs was threatening to overshadow the magical Will Genia as the most exciting young scrum-half on the planet late last year, but will want to stamp his authority in the next match to stop the current slide in form.
8: Nick Easter: 7
Easter seems to be the most accurate barometer of England performances as number 8. There is wonderful balance in the England back-row at the moment and Easter is leading the pack with bear-like strength.
7: James Haskell: 9
Haskell has never been shy in talking up his own abilities. The Stade Francais man seems to have a knack for irritating those around him and has courted controversy for his 'celeb' styling. However, today he showed that maybe he has some trousers to go with his mouth. Even though he couldn't pull off the audacious chip ahead midway through the second-half, his pace around the breakdown and his butterfly-soft hands were the fulcrum of all that was good about England.
6: Tom Wood: 7
Offers a lot around the park, and in the lineout. Not physically imposing compared to some of his European counterparts, he is industrious around the breakdown and a classic spoiler. He won't grab headlines like Haskell...then again, you never used to see Richard Hill until he shook your hand at the end of the game. The greats stay in the shadows.
5: Tom Palmer: 8
Cemented his place in the England team with another dominant performance. He showed exquisite touches in attack and was completely in control at the line-out. His skills set really show how the role of the second-row is changing. Wade Dooley is still God, but you would never have seen the 'Blackpool Tower' do that.
4: Louis Deacon: 5
Dependable both in the lineout and the scrum. Still has somewhere to go to claim a right to partner Palmer in second row, however, and even the Jurassic Park's own Simon Shaw offered more in the loose, despite being in dire need of comfy slippers and a Gloria Huniford pension scheme.
3: Dan Cole: 9
2: Dylan Hartley: 7
1: Alex Corbisiero: 9 & Man of the Match
Having already been told how wrong I was for my pathetic attempt at predicting the scoreline, I must also take some responsibility for becoming caught up in the hysteria surrounding Corbisiero's inclusion in the starting line up. Even the often sensational Martin Castro was totally subdued by a dominant performance by the English front row.
Corbisiero may have been something of an unknown quality to many outside of London Irish, but he certainly showed that he is not going to be made to look silly at international level. One can look at the scoreline and dismiss the opposition. But this is an Italian team who came so close to beating Ireland, and have even managed to taught New Zealand a lesson or two. He was tremendous in coping with Castrogiovanni and was a work-horse in the loose.
To be rushed into the squad so quickly due to injuries, he was under a lot of pressure, but the young man took it all in his stride and is surely going to be given the start in next weeks game. The Italian took on the American-born Englishman with Italian heritage and lost. I'm sure there are some wonderful Godfather related analogies in there somewhere but Ill leave those to better journalists. Castro's sin-binning was simply the culmination of Corbisiero's efforts.
Cole is another young success story. He is as mobile as he is strong, and although for a horrible moment, he appear to be breaking the fundamental rules of rugby by almost scoring in the corner, the correct order of things was restored as he went back to out-performing one of the most experienced props in Europe.
Steve Thompson should be applauded for simply making it out onto the field. Hartley once again showed why he starts for England with an excellent all round performance, but Thompson brings something rather special to the England team. As expected, he was brought on as a replacement for Mark Cueto (not really), as the big man crashed around the field with gay abandon.
Him and Hartley seem to work well as a rotating unit, with Thompson still pushing forward in a career that has seen his 2003 partners-in-crime Trevor Woodman and Phil Vickery succumb to injury.
Special Mention.
While it takes 15 players to make up a rugby team, it seems that the vast majority of the Italian team believe they are on a SAGA holiday. Sergio Parisse could play no.10 for Italy and still be world-class. He is omnipotent and ever-present and quite possibly the most complete rugby player on the planet.
Forget being an Astronaut. When I grow up, I want to be Sergio Parisse..just pray I'm born in Stockport.
