Italy inflicted a historic 23-18 defeat on England at the Stadio Olimpico, recording their first-ever Six Nations victory over the visitors and deepening England’s tournament woes.
After consecutive losses to Scotland and Ireland, England looked on course for a response. First-half tries from Tommy Freeman and Tom Roebuck and two second-half penalties from Fin Smith had given the tourists control, but the match turned on two yellow cards for Sam Underhill and Maro Itoje. Italy grabbed the decisive score through Leonardo Marin while England were reduced to 13 men, and Paolo Garbisi’s kicking completed the comeback.
The win lifts Italy above England into fourth place in the table and keeps the hosts in the hunt for a top-three finish for the first time. England sit second-bottom and now face a difficult trip to title-chasing France in round five, leaving fresh questions over direction under Steve Borthwick.
Score summary:
– Italy: Tries — Tommaso Menoncello, Leonardo Marin; Kicking — Paolo Garbisi (conversions and three penalties)
– England: Tries — Tommy Freeman, Tom Roebuck; Kicking — Fin Smith (conversion and two penalties)
Italy’s preparations were unaffected by a late England warm-up injury to Tom Curry, which saw Sam Underhill added to the match-day squad. England controlled much of the early territory but struggled to turn possession into points, and Italy opened the scoring when Garbisi kicked a penalty after establishing a foothold.
England hit back in the 26th minute when Alex Coles released Tommy Freeman from a direct line-out routine to score in the corner. Italy regained the lead before half-time as Menoncello sliced through England’s defence, but Roebuck replied on the stroke of half-time when he gathered Fin Smith’s cross-field kick and dove over to edge England in front at the break.
Two early second-half penalties from Smith extended England’s advantage and looked to set the visitors up. The match momentum shifted, though, when Italy prop Giacomo Nicotera was sin‑binned and then England lost Underhill to a yellow card. Garbisi kicked twice in quick succession to narrow the gap, and shortly after Maro Itoje was yellow-carded for slapping the ball from Alessandro Garbisi, leaving England with 13 men.
Italy made the extra numbers count: Menoncello charged down the wing and offloaded to Leonardo Marin, who finished the decisive try. Garbisi’s conversion and his earlier penalties were enough to secure a famous victory for the Azzurri.
Steve Borthwick acknowledged Italy’s progress but lamented England’s lack of discipline, saying the sin-binnings were costly and added pressure across the team. Captain Maro Itoje accepted responsibility, calling for unity and hard work as England seek to respond in the remaining rounds.