"Devastated for him" – 5 Talking Points: Steve Borthwick, Maro Itoje & Fin Smith react to England's win over Italy
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England have their third straight win at the Allianz Stadium, having racked up a convincing 47-24 victory over Italy in the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations. England’s hopes for their first Championship title since 2020 remain alive, with Steve Borthwick’s side running riot with a seven-try triumph.
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The current permutations for England’s Six Nations glory all rest with Scotland. Should Gregor Townsend’s side secure the win or even grab a draw over France, then the door will open for England to claim the title in Cardiff. There is plenty of excitement heading into Super Saturday, but Borthwick has plenty to assess after his side’s win over the Azzurri.
1. “A real tough injury” – Borthwick’s sympathies for Ollie Lawrence as England centre suffers ACL injury blow
Head coach Steve Borthwick, captain Maro Itoje and fly half Fin Smith all spoke to the media after England’s fourth round win. Borthwick and Smith both addressed Ollie Lawrence’s ACL injury, in what is a devastating blow to the Bath man.
The midfielder will be out of action for the rest of the Six Nations, as Borthwick’s shake of the head confirmed that Lawrence will play no part in Cardiff. Lawrence could also now miss out on Bath’s push for the Premiership title, but most gutting of all is how he could well miss the British & Irish Lions tour this Summer in Australia.
STEVE BORTHWICK: "Yeah, it's an Achilles injury. We'll know more in the next 48 hours when he has the scans and he sees a specialist. Fingers crossed it's not quite as severe as we fear it might be. He'll get the very, very best care, he'll see the very, very best people, to be looked after."
"It looks like it could be a real tough injury but I am hesitant to say exactly without any detailed assessment of it in terms of the scans. It looks like it is a tough injury for him.”
Borthwick also provided an injury update on Ben Earl, Fraser Dingwall and Tom Curry, as the trio all vacated the Allianz Stadium with injury concerns.
"(Other injured players) All fine with a couple of cuts. Ben Earl, Fraser (Dingwall), I think it was cuts to get off the pitch and stitched up. Tom, he was all good. He was stretching a bit and I decided to make a change at that point in time."
2. “It breaks your heart” – Fin Smith ‘devastated’ to see former Worcester teammate Lawrence suffer injury set-back
FIN SMITH: “It is difficult. Obviously you play in a game and you want to win and all this stuff, but I think there's a sort of deeper level to it and when you see one of your best mates potentially losing the chance to go on a Lions tour and what was bound to be a massive year for him, it breaks your heart.
“I think I was probably a bit too gutted on the pitch seeing that happen and it maybe rattled me for a few minutes. I probably made a few mistakes off the back of it. We're all absolutely devastated for him. I've got everything crossed that the scans say it's not too bad but it is not looking brilliant.
“He is absolutely devastated. He has been a massive part of Bath and pushing them forward and a massive part of this England team. I don't think he has played below a 7-8 of 10 ever really for either his club or his country. I am devastated for him, and I know he's devastated as well. We have just got to get around him. I think as teammates, we've got to be good friends to him now and look out for him because it is going to be a tough time for him.”
3. Who will replace Ollie Lawrence at centre, could Borthwick move Tommy Freeman to the midfield?
The question marks now arise, as to who Steve Borthwick will pick to replace Ollie Lawrence in England’s outside centre spot. Uncertainty around the match fitness of Henry Slade removes the Exeter man as being an obvious like-for-like replacement, with Borthwick open to the possibility of running Tommy Freeman, Elliot Daly or Oscar Beard at 13.
STEVE BORTHWICK: "I would have no doubt about either of those guys playing in the centre.”
"He (Oscar Beard) has trained really well when he has been with the squad and his ball carrying is real point of difference.”
"I'm interested in how he (Tommy Freeman) plays in a white shirt. I think he is playing really well, as many players are. I think there is even more to come from Tommy, I think Tommy can be even more powerful in his carry. We are only just scratching the surface with him, his potential is huge."
"We obviously have a couple of options about how we make a change. It was Elliot's ability to cover centre, Tommy's ability to go into the centre, so there were adaptions and at different times in the game we did it in different ways."
“I thought the back-line was good. They adapted to the injury really well. They had to change positions and I thought they did a lot of good things. We're not just building a 15, we're building a 23, we're building a squad and to do that there need to different changes at the right time. I thought today was the right time to make a couple of changes.”
4. Maro Itoje heaps on the praise for Jamie George as hooker makes his 100th England cap
MARO ITOJE: “Jamie is a fantastic player. I said during the week he’s an incredible rugby player. He brings leadership, he brings calmness, he brings a toughness. As a hooker, a forward, he’s one of the most intelligent rugby players that I’ve ever played with.
“I think my career has been richer as a result of playing with and working alongside Jamie. Steve mentioned earlier some of the other players being a bit like “glue” players, and Jamie is exactly that, Jamie pulls the group together, he is the ultimate people person. All he wants is the best for the team. I’m absolutely delighted for Jamie, and he’s still got loads more left in the tank. So I’m excited to see how he continues to go.
5. All eyes on Cardiff – Itoje and Borthwick ready for a strong finish to the 2025 Six Nations
MARO ITOJE: “Wales, Cardiff the Principality is a tough place to go, I have been fortunate enough to play there numerous times and I know exactly how difficult it is. Wales versus England is a humungous fixture, I know all of Wales will be crammed in the Principality, and it's a challenge we are very much looking forward to."
STEVE BORTHWICK: “What we need to do is go down to Cardiff next weekend and put in a performance to get the result we want. That's what we'll concentrate our work upon this week and I think the players are doing a magnificent job., You can see the way the team's developing, led by Maro, and we'll continue to try and take another step forward this week.”
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