England raring to go for ‘toughest test they have ever had against Italy’

Jamie George has roared “bring it on” as he braces England for the greatest threat yet to their unbeaten record against Italy.

Steve Borthwick’s side stagger into Rome on Saturday determined to rebuild after chastening defeats by Scotland and Ireland left their Guinness Six Nations title ambitions in ruins.

Traditionally clashes with Italy have been routine assignments having won all 32 previous encounters in a fixture that began in 1991.

But Italy are transformed from the team that once slumped to a 36-game losing run in the Six Nations.

And armed with a fearsome pack, a cutting edge in attack and a sprinkling of world-class talent, they have never been better equipped to claim a famous win.

George believes a reborn Azzurri at the Stadio Olimpico is the ideal stage for England to reveal their true selves three weeks after their run of 12 Test victories ended at Murrayfield.

“Rome is always a difficult place to play but with this Italian team looking the way they do, it’s going to be the toughest test that England have ever had against Italy. But bring it on,” the vice-captain said.

“Times like these – and I would rather not have them obviously – but they are genuinely the most enjoyable times to be part of a team. You learn a huge amount about people.

“It’s an opportunity to step up, it’s an opportunity to bring people with you. It can be a defining moment for a team moving forward – and I think it will be.

“This team is on a brilliant trajectory. The last two weeks have been poor but at the same time I have absolute confidence in what we are.

“We are going to be a brilliant team over the next couple of years and hopefully that continues to grow and progress and we bring the media, the fans and the ex-players on a journey with us.

“It’s probably been a characteristic of the team over the last 12 months that we’ve looked really together and really tight. These two results are blips.

“We are not a million miles away from looking like the team we need to be, but we need to double down on what we’ve been over the last 12 months.”

Borthwick viewed the performances against Scotland and Ireland as unacceptable and responded by making nine changes in personnel and publicly condemning the failure to uphold standards that he views as “unwavering”.

England’s players know what is expected of them as they look to restore their reputations against Italy and France in the final two rounds of another disappointing Championship.

George said: “We owe it to everyone. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to the England fans, we owe it to Steve and every single member of staff in the group because we are lucky and privileged enough to represent the whole country.

“Steve makes things very, very clear and the way that he has delivered the messages this week that he has been very, very disappointed in what he has seen in certain areas of the game, that’s exactly what we want. We want clarity.”