"Ollie Lawrence ACL Injury" – 5 Things You Missed: England 47-24 Italy

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England have their most convincing win of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, as after back-to-back nail biters against France and Scotland, Steve Borthwick’s men put Italy to the sword in an emphatic win at HQ. The Twickenham faithful were rocking for each of England’s seven tries, with the title hopes staying alive after the fourth round of action.

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Five-point scores from Tom Willis, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Tom Curry, Ben Earl and an Ollie Sleightholme brace established unenviable distance from the chasing Italians. The on point marksmanship from Fin Smith complimented six well struck conversions, as England enjoyed the spoils of a bonus point win upon home soil.

Scroll down for a recap of the action from England’s win at the Allianz Stadium

5 THINGS YOU MISSED: ENGLAND 47 – 24 ITALY

1. Ollie Lawrence’s ACL injury as England star seen in medical boot

There was a shock injury after just eight minutes, as England midfielder Ollie Lawrence went down during an attacking move. The Bath man was not injured by any clash in contact, despite how the hard-hitting centre favours the crash of a carry. Lawrence went down untouched, and was visibly in pain as he received an assortment of medical attention.

Lawrence made way for Marcus Smith upon his exit, with the Harlequin flung into the fray at fullback. The back-line was shuffled about to move the versatile multi-tool Elliot Daly in to the midfield, with Smith taking the lead across the England back-three. Lawrence was later shown on the Allianz Stadium big screens sat rather dejected on the substitutes bench, with a medical boot and crutches emphasising the severity of the ACL injury.

England head coach Steve Borthwick addressed the injury after the match: “It’s an Achilles injury that,
we’ll know more in the next 48 hours when he gets the scans and 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.”

All will be revealed by the official England channels in due time, yet you could make the assumption that Lawrence has had his last involvement for the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations.

2. Palestine protest – Drone flying flag over the Allianz Stadium

Mid way through the second half, a drone was spotted high above the Allianz Stadium. The drone was flying the colours of the Palestinian flag, with this event coming shortly after the Palestine protests at London’s Big Ben. The 80,000 strong spectators all got a glimpse at a powerful message, as the conflict in the Middle East continues.

3. Pre-match demand for Marcus Smith and Jamie George’s triumphant centurion appearance

The England fan demand for Marcus Smith was apparent at the Allianz Stadium, as the Harlequin recieved a monstrous ovation after his name was read out over the intercom speakers. Smith was announced as England’s number 23, as there was no space for the talisman to start at either fly half or fullback in Steve Borthwick’s eyes. Smith took a back seat to Fin Smith and Elliot Daly, yet only had to wait the aforementioned eight minutes before he was flung into the fray.

There was also plenty of pre-match focus upon England hooker Jamie George, who was celebrating his 100th Test cap for his country. George carried out his youngest child onto the Allianz pitch, as he was announced ahead of the main England squad. The former England captain returned to his place at the helm of the team, with his Saracens teammate and now England skipper Maro Itoje, having to settle for second in line upon the hooker’s hundredth appearance.

4. Tom Willis bags his first Test try as tempo is set for England

The opening score of the match held an added importance for a certain England back rower, as Tom Willis picked up his first try as an England international. Just a matter of minutes after Jamie George had achieved his centurion milestone, as the match kicked off for his 100th cap, his Saracens teammate Willis achieved his own England landmark as he scored for the first time as a Test match player.

It was a tried and tested move for the number eight, who had scored plenty of similar scores at the StoneX Stadium. Willis made a possession winning hit on Italian scrum half Stephen Varney, with England marching downfield through the phases. Willis then backed his power from close range to dent the blue brick wall, before extending out his arm to secure the score.

5. Referee unhappy with England’s second half scrummagers

The narrative of the second half scrums saw a major change at the hour mark, as England replaced both props at their customary time-slot. However, whilst Ellis Genge and Will Stuart set a strong scrummaging foundation in the win over Italy, the replacement props Fin Baxter and Joe Heyes were not up to the same set-piece scratch for the referee’s liking.

Baxter and Heyes were repeatedly told to scrum at a lower body position, as match official Andrew Brace gave the duo quite the dressing down over the referee mic. The props were threatened with sanctions as the scrums failed to be set at a solid height, with Brace one more collapse away from reaching into his pocket and sending either the Harlequin or Leicester Tigers man to the sin bin.

THE ON-FIELD ACTION

England ignited the afternoon’s try scoring after just three minutes, with Tom Willis at the heart of the action. The back row made a solid hit on Stephen Varney to spill the ball into England’s hands, and rounded off the attacking move with a close range drive to the line. Fin Smith’s on-point marksmanship took England to an early seven point lead.

Italy returned fire 10 minutes later, with powerhouse wing Montanna Ioane starring in the move. The flyer executed a nice chip kick into the England back-field, with fullback pocket rocket Ange Capuozzo quickest to dot down the score for the Azzurri. A smart conversion from Paolo Garbisi drew the teams level at seven-a-piece.

After a brief stalemate that included Maro Itoje’s held-up try, England scored their second thanks to the quick thinking of Elliot Daly. The Saracen stubbed a neat grubber into the wide channels, and Tommy Freeman claimed the ball and muscled his way over Paolo Garbisi for the score.

Gonzalo Quesada’s side fought back, as Exeter Chiefs man Ross Vintcent broke away for a stunning solo try. An initial gain-line cross from Capuozzo split England in half, before Vintcent got the ball, sold Marcus Smith the dummy, and outpaced Tom Willis to the try-line.

The momentum swung once more in the first half, as Ollie Slightholme grabbed England’s third try, after 34 minutes. The Northampton wing scorched up the searingly hot Twickenham touchline, with a stunning finish out in the far corner. Plaudits to the back-line trio of Fin Smith, Fraser DIngwall and Marcus Smith, to get the ball to their man in space out wide. Another nailed conversion took England into the half-time break at 21-17 to the good.

SECOND HALF

England continued on with their impressive attacking onslaught, as they were back over the whitewash just four minutes after the break. The move was started by some fancy footwork from tight-head prop Will Stuart, before Marcus Smith was unleashed for a customary carve-up of the Twickenham turf. Smith danced past Ange Capuozzo’s covering tackle attempt, and the afterburners proved too hot for Monty Ioane to extinguish.

The Curry brothers combined for England’s sixth score, as Ben Curry battered his way through a handful of bricks from the crumbling blue wall. The Sale man was held inches from the try-line, as his twin brother picked from the back of the breakdown for a close range try. England’s most entertaining score would then follow, as Maro Itoje, Tom Curry and Jamie George all kept the ball alive with Barbarians style offloading. Ollie Sleightholme bagged his brace from the well worked move, as the match ran away from the Italian efforts.

Italy would not lie down and die despite the ever growing deficit, as Tomasso Menoncello provided a consolitary try to keep the pockets of Azzurri fans entertained in the match. The plaudits went to Manuel Zuliani, as the replacement forward battered his way through the England line, before skipping away from a back-peddling Joe Heyes. Zuliani was held close to the line, before Menoncello raced on to a pass to cross over unopposed. Ben Earl rounded off the action at the Allianz, as he capped off a nice move that opitimised England’s attacking intent.

FULL TIME: ENGLAND 47 – 24 ITALY

ENGLAND: 47

TRIES: 7 (Willis 3′, Freeman 26′, Sleightholme 35′, 52′, M. Smith 44′, T. Curry 47′, Earl 80′)

CONVERSIONS: 6 (F. Smith 3′, 26′, 35′, 44′, 47′, 52′)

PENALTIES: 0

DROP GOALS: 0

RED CARDS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 0

ITALY: 24

TRIES: 3 (Capuozzo 13′, Vintcent 31′, Menoncello 71′)

CONVERSIONS: 3 (P. Garbisi 13′, 31′, 71′

PENALTIES: 1 (P. Garbisi 37′)

DROP GOALS: 0

RED CARDS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 0

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