Defending champions England were made to work hard but powered away in the second half to a bonus-point 27-17 win over Italy in their Under-20s Six Nations opener in Gorizia.
Leading just 8-7 at the break, the English scored twice in two minutes early in the second before Ben Loader’s score on the hour secured all five points for the visitors.
In damp conditions in Gorizia, England dominated possession and territory in the first half but struggled to turn it into points.
James Grayson gave them an early lead with a penalty, but it took until 19 minutes for them to finally get a first try, skipper Ben Earl the beneficiary of a powerful rolling maul.
Grayson could not convert, and England could not add to their 8-0 lead despite a lot of pressure in the Italian 22.
Instead it was the hosts who struck on the stroke of half-time, rewarded for a bold decision as they turned down a shot at goal. Rather than take those points, the Azzurrini kicked to the corner, and while their first attempt to power over was stopped, a penalty advantage allowed them to try again, with hooker Matteo Luccardi the man to eventually cross.
Rizzi’s conversion with the final kick of the half allowed the Italians to go in trailing just 8-7, having also dominated in the scrum in the first half.
England wanted a response to start the second half, and they got it with a try from Ben White after eight minutes of the second period. The scrum-half spotted a gap in the fringe defence after England’s forwards had been stopped short of the line.
Grayson converted, and was called into action two minutes later when Tom Parton added to the English total.
The full-back showed all his pace to break a number of tackles and race over from halfway for a brilliant individual score. Grayson’s conversion made it 22-10 to the visitors.
Rizzi pulled back three points with a penalty for the Italians but it was only a temporary respite.
Instead it was England who came back up the field and scored a brilliant try as the ball was whipped through the hands to send Ben Loader over in the corner for the bonus-point score. The conversion was off-target but England still led 27-10.
Italy had their chances to score before the end of the game, most notably when they had a succession of attacking lineouts, leading to a yellow card for replacement Sam Lewis, but they could not take those chances.
However they finally did get over with the final play of the game as a rolling maul raced away only to be dragged down short of the line, earning a penalty try for the Italians.
