'Wouldn't be surprised if they got a couple of victories': George on Italy

England captain Jamie George believes Italy are going to cause problems for teams this Guinness Six Nations after his side narrowly beat them 27-24 in Rome on Saturday.

Under a new head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, the Azzurri were an unknown quantity heading into the match, which England head coach Steve Borthwick mentioned after the result. Borthwick explained that it was hard to prepare for Italy as they did not know what was to come at the Stadio Olimpico.

The Italians clearly caught England off-guard, as the visitors had very little territory in the opening stages of the match, and were picked apart on two occasions in the first-half by some slick interplay by the Italy backline leading to two tries.

Though England wrestled control of the match in the second-half, George saw enough in the performance from Italy to feel they will be a real threat to the teams they come up against this Championship, and may even sneak a couple of victories.

“I was very impressed with the way Italy approached the game today,” the hooker said.

“Obviously with a new coaching staff , we weren’t too sure about how they were going to play, but they executed their gameplan very well.

“I think they’re going to give sides some problems this tournament and I wouldn’t be surprised if they got a couple of victories along the way.”

Up next for Quesada’s side is Ireland, who made quite an emphatic statement on the opening night of the Championship by dismantling France 38-17 in Marseille. The contest is in Dublin, so the victory George speaks of may not come in round two, but he has confidence nevertheless.

This was certainly a step in the right direction for Italy, who were subjected to a couple of shellackings at the hands of the All Blacks and France at the World Cup last year. How they perform against Andy Farrell’s side next week may well give a better indication of the progress they have made since last year.