John Mitchell’s new-look side seemed on the way to a dominant win as they added five tries with the wind.
The second-half remained scoreless till the 78th minute, showing the progress the Red Roses still have to make.
Fabio Roselli will be heartened by the Italians’ showing. For lengthy periods after the break they put English defences under severe pressure.
They, like the English before them, were denied a worthy try by an eagle-eyed TMO. That personage grows in importance with every test played.
The opening minutes were all England. Lucy Packer, who had another fine game, hoofed a long clearance into enemy territory, and the pack rumbled forwards at the scrum.
That allowed the backs time and space to be creative.
Mia Venner was the beneficiary on the far left to mark her first reappearance since she was 17.
Three minutes later it was Emily Scarratt diving over for her 55th England try!
The Azzurre had multiple problems. They needed to use several forwards to ensure safe recycling, but the rucks were so slow that Sofia Stefan resorted to box-kick after box-kick – to little effect.
At least they gained three penalties as English ball-carriers got isolated.
At last the English pack resorted to a driving maul. Try to Rosie Galligan. You’ve guessed it – written off by the TMO. The ball wasn’t grounded, because Gurioli had interfered from an off-side position.
Instead, a penalty try.
England’s fourth try brought great joy to Claudia Macdonald, who caught a delicious cross-kick from Holly Aitchison to scamper over.
There are different sorts of courage. Coming back from a neck injury is one; coming back from a second…
I had feared for Italian inaccuracy at the line-out, and here came the proof. The throw beat everyone except AmyCokayne at the back; she almost fell over the line in surprise.
Half-time: 33-5
The post-match review will concentrate on the following 40 minutes.
The Azzurre, now with the wind behind them, were vastly improved. Their combinations were slicker, and Rigoni and D’Inca needed careful watching.
The crowd grew thoughtful as the half progressed with England unable to muster much of an attack.
Even when some big names came off the bench to rapturous applause, the Italian defences kept them in check.
Mitchell had interesting ideas about new positions. Jade Shekells made her debut at 12, Kildunne came on on the right-wing, and Aitchison switched back to 10.
Despite the array of talent on display, England found themselves defending desperately for lengthy periods.
It was only as Precious Pazani started checking her watch that the home attack clicked again. On 78 minutes Sing had the pleasure of taking the final pass to score.
Result: England 38 Italy 5
Player of the Match: Maddie Feaunati
Referee: Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe)
Teams
Italy
15 Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi 14 Aura Muzzo 13 Alyssa D’Incà 12 Beatrice Rigoni 11 Francesca Granzotto 10 Veronica Madia 9 Sofia Stefan (captain) 1 Silvia Turani 2 Laura Gurioli 3 Sara Seye 4 Valeria Fedrigi 5 Giordana Duca 6 Beatrice Veronese 7 Isabella Locatelli 8 Francesca Sgorbini
16 Vittoria Vecchini 17 Emanuela Stecca 18 Gaia Maris 19 Sara Tounesi 20 Giada Franco 21 *Alia Bitonci 22 Emma Stevanin 23 Beatrice Capomaggi
*uncapped
England
15 Sing, 14 Venner, 13 Scarratt, 12 Aitchison, 11 Macdonald 10 Rowland, 9 M. Packer, 1 Clifford, 2 Cokayne, 3 Muir, 4 Galligan, 5 Ives Campion, 6 Aldcroft (captain), 7 M. Packer, 8 Feaunati
16 Campbell, 17 Botterman, 18 Bern, 19 Ward, 20 Kabeya 21 F. Robinson, 22 Shekells, 23 Kildunne
