LONG READ Mick Cleary: Five non-negotiables England need to display against Italy

England had a year of narrow losses in 2024, and have started 2025 with consecutive one-point victories, yet the criticism of the team has remained a constant. So what does this polarising England side need to do against Italy to turn doubters into believers and reclaim their place in the hearts of the Twickenham fanbase.

 1 – Consolidate their identity

Just who are these guys in white? The box-kicking Calcutta Cup bores, frightened  to trust themselves with ball-in-hand, fearful and inhibited, playing to orders and sending the Twickenham crowd into snooze-fest mood with jeering also to worry the money-masters about future bums on seats? Or the three-try adventurers of Dublin, prepared to give it a go as they also showed against France when their bonus point score was also a match-winner, slick and sharp and bold in the decisiveness of its execution. Will the real England please stand up and reveal themselves, not just for the sake of their angst-ridden fans but for their own future? England have to know what they are about if they are ever to succeed. The game against Scotland was a regression. True, they won and that’s not to be ignored, but it gave off the wrong vibe for all concerned. England have to be sure in, as well as of, themselves.  All great teams know what they are about. Viz Ireland. Viz South Africa. Italy is the time for revelation.

2 – Go all out attack

A year ago when they went to York for their fallow-week camp, England had had enough of press and contain and risk-free rugby. They pledged themselves to throw off the shackles and sharpen their attack. It was a transformative moment. Or so it seemed. England did use their back line more but they lost matches. At least they’ve rectified that last bit. They now need to stick to their guns and do as France did against Italy last week and go all-out. Whatever the France for ‘rocket up the backside’ is, Fabien Galthie’s side played as if they had a Navarone howitzer up their rear end. Fore and aft, they gave it everything from first whistle, pounding forward or slicing open as they racked up the Six Nations’ second highest ever score. (England have the highest, an 80 point demolition job in 2001). It’s not as if Italy were feeble against France, undeserving of championship status as has so often been levelled at them. No, this was France in their aggrieved pomp, atoning for their sins of omission against England. To say that England have that self-same capacity of destruction in their ranks might be a stretch but they can play, they can run, they can pass, they can confuse and beguile. What they lack is mindset. Even Steve Borthwick acknowledged that the Scotland game wasn’t a true representation of this squad. Well, a few of us remain to be fully convinced. Time for true colours.

3 –  Allow Alex Mitchell to play his natural game

We are in fortunate times to be able to witness Antoine Dupont at work, the greatest scrum-half of his era and with claim even to knocking Gareth of the top of the podium. Jamison Gibson-Park is also hitting standards of play that should ensure that he is a shoo-in for the Lions No 9 shirt, a classic Kiwi-type scrum-half, with a mastery of the basics, a non-negotiable in New Zealand where he learnt his craft, but more so, clever and involved, his beady-eyed visage often caught on TV camera popping up behind the forwards, scanning to read the play before the play is made. Both men make decisions on the hoof. Of course they have a game-plan in mind, too. But they react to what is around them, all the more so now that the new law tweaks prevent them from being routinely scragged at the base. Alex Mitchell could and should be pushing for a place in such company but he is way off the pace at the moment. And it is a real shame to witness. There is so much to admire in his game, his ability to have a look and snipe, keeping defences honest and his own team on the front foot. Yes, he is playing to instruction, a team man to his core. Well, you can only exhort him to follow the advice given to the 1995 New Zealand side when a supporter faxed their team HQ in South Africa prior to the World Cup final urging the team: ‘Dear All Blacks. Please remember that rugby union is played for the ultimate good of the team – so give the ball to Jonah.’ It’s time for Mitchell to be more himself against Italy. And all for the good of the team.

4 – Find out if Marcus is the answer at full-back

Kevin Sinfield has made an impassioned plea for Marcus Smith to be a long-term consideration for England at full-back. “If we throw it in the bin now, it’ll be a wasted opportunity,” said Sinfield during the team’s northern training retreat at York. Well, if that’s the case, then give him the bloody ball. There are plenty of reservations about seeing Marcus in the no.15 shirt for England, not the least of which is that the player himself must be shedding secret tears, but that’s the least of it. If England really are committed to going down this route no matter that George Furbank will one day recover from his broken arm and return to the fold, then they have to maximise every last second of opportunity on the field. The dual playmaker set-up has attractions but only if it is the cornerstone of an attacking strategy, not some occasional bit of happenstance. ‘Oh, look, there’s Marcus, let’s give him the ball for a change.’  It’s a wasted arrangement if his ability to source and exploit space only comes into play when the opposition kick poorly and bring him into the game. Italy is the ideal occasion to see if Sinfield’s comment really does have legs.

5 – Plug the gaping holes in defence

You couldn’t help but be moved by Ben Curry’s words in the aftermath of the nerve-shredding, soul-searching Calcutta Cup display when the Sale back-rower spoke of England’s defiant defence that afternoon as if it were some sort of spiritual experience, life-affirming and real for those involved. Fair enough. The strength of both the Curry boys lies in their deep-rooted commitment to the cause. And at various junctures, England did make a stand, did put bodies on the line, did place trust in each other to get the job done. As the scoreboard illustrated.

But to take any sort of refuge in the supposed fact that England have cured the ills of the blitz-addled autumn when their defence was a mess, would be wrong. In the first half, Scotland streaked through with Tom Jordan, Huw Jones and Duhan van der Merwe, all finding holes. Italy will, too, if England don’t tighten up as they have a back line the equal of any as they showed in glimpses against France when their high-quality midfield of Tommaso Menoncello and  Ignacio Brex caused France real problems. England need to be on their guard.