Owen Farrell

It was his cheers you could hear loudest as Jack Willis performed his one-man demolition derby, and it was his altercation on the ground with Sebastian Negri ...

To claim that England have erased the scars of the Eddie Jones era is to ignore the fact that this was their most slender margin of victory over Italy for a decade. Except his own 80 minutes told a different story, as he settled either for relinquishing advantage with abortive kicks or for firing short passes to Lawrence, who smashed through the middle like a battering ram. He also spoke passionately of the public investment in his England makeover, of the crowds he had seen lining the streets from the team coach on the short journey from their base on Richmond Hill. He strove, in everything he said, to argue that England had rounded the corner. He pointed to the tireless tackling of Willis, to the thunderous influence of Ollie Lawrence, and to a revived display by Maro Itoje. The head coach had already raised eyebrows by relegating Marcus Smith to the bench to ensure that Farrell could switch back to his favoured position at 10. Even as Borthwick tries to shake up this side from top to bottom, Farrell retains the head coach’s unconditional trust. But you wonder how many more sightings he will have of the ball if Farrell persists with his [propensity for aimless grubbers](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2023/02/12/why-didnt-referee-rule-italys-try-obstruction-like-did-england/). The 24-year-old wing had marked his second international appearance by painting his nails in the red and white of the St George’s Cross, declaring: “Look good, feel good, play good.” If you are going to show this degree of self-confidence so early in your Test career, then you had better back it up when it counts. [at the introduction of Henry Arundell](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2023/02/12/england-v-italy-player-ratings-ollie-lawerence-proves-life-manu/), the brilliant young London Irish talent who plundered a deserved try at the death. Where Capuozzo produced lightning dashes to lift spectators out of their seats, England tended, especially in the second half, to look lumpen and predictable. Time to shelve the tactic?