Italy head coach Andrea Di Giandomenico believes there are plenty of positives to take from his side’s performance, despite going down 67-3 to England in their first match of the 2021 Women’s Six Nations.
First-half scores from Emily Scarratt and Vicky Fleetwood put the visitors into the ascendency at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, with both tries a result of Italian handling errors around halfway.
Abby Dow (twice), Harriet Millar-Mills and Helena Rowland all crossed in the second half to stamp England’s authority onto the game, before Poppy Cleall, Claudia MacDonald and Lark Davies rounded off the scoring late on.
And after failing to score a try despite dominating the early stages in Parma, Di Giandomenico knows his side have to work on their ability to turn possession into points.
“In the first half I thought we were really good with our movement, but we are looking for more precision and a killer instinct,” the Italy boss said.
“The players need to score when we have good opportunities.
“We scored the tries for England in the first half, the scoreline doesn’t give me a smile but I am comfortable with the work and the effort of the players.”
It was a tale of defensive domination from both sides in the opening stages, with neither able to find a breakthrough until Scarratt pounced on a loose ball before scurrying to the try line midway through the first half.
The Azzurre had dominated proceedings up until that point but couldn’t find the breakthrough, and it was another Italian error that saw the Red Roses double their lead ten minutes later as Meg Jones stormed away before teeing up Fleetwood for the second score of the game.
Dow touched down in the corner to further extend the lead for Simon Middleton’s side, before Millar-Mills capped off an electric move to wrap up the bonus point.
The floodgates opened late in the game as Rowland, Dow and Cleall all touched down before MacDonald and Davies crossed ahead of the final whistle sounding to secure England’s position at the top of Pool A after back-to-back wins.
And after tasting defeat in their first competitive outing of the year, Di Giandomenico is expecting his side’s performance to improve in next weekend’s showdown with Scotland in Glasgow, where the winners will finish second in Pool A.
“It’s good to play against England first because we will be more confident in the next game,” he added.
“Now is not the time to emotionally react, we have time to look forward and we will look forward to the next game.”
