Ethan Roots and Tommy Freeman embody England’s potential – this was much better than the World Cup

Duo at the heart of a display was the opposite of the conservative style Steve Borthwick’s side showed in France tournament

The beginning of a new era for England and, despite the narrow margin of victory, there were plenty of reasons for optimism. This was a new team with five debutants and a handful of others with only a sprinkling of caps. After the more conservative style of the World Cup, this was a far more harmonious and collective display.
At the heart of it all were the uncapped Ethan Roots and Tommy Freeman, with just three caps; the duo were England’s two outstanding players, embodying this side’s improvements. It was far from perfect and during the first half especially there were some loose and ragged moments but after half time I sensed a much more united attitude. England trailed by 10 points because early penalties stifled their momentum and Italy’s attacking play was of the highest quality. It was not just seven or eight players on the same wavelength like it might once have been, but the whole team – with Roots and Freeman at the heart. 
The reason why I was so impressed by that duo, both on Six Nations debuts, was because of how they impacted the way England played. Every England fan would have hoped that the side would look a little different because of Steve Borthwick’s team selection, as well as the arrival of Felix Jones and Andrew Strawbridge to the coaching staff, and I think Roots and Freeman were instrumental in shaping that. Roots set the ball-carrying standard, getting England on the front foot, which then gave the half-backs the time to play. It is telling that the victory in Rome was as well as I have seen George Ford play for a while, with the clarity of game plan and the strength of the carrying giving him licence to vary his positioning; flat, deep or looping round. It kept Italy’s defenders guessing.
Roots and Freeman – as well as Chandler Cunningham-South and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso in their cameos off the bench – were able to shine because England’s attack was more dynamic and more meaningful from first phase than we have seen for a while. There was more clarity and more of a strategy. England did not score as many as they would have wanted but there were signs of progress. The breakdown work was sharper, the carrying was more incisive and the general clarity and variety was refreshing. When there is a variety of ball-carriers – Ollie Chessum and Maro Itoje played their part, too – then your attack is more subtle, not as telegraphed, and it is far more difficult to defend.
When Freeman almost scored in the first half after a classy Alex Mitchell offload, it was notable that both wings were involved. Freeman and Elliot Daly were putting themselves in the right positions. It might not have always led to thrilling line breaks, but this was just the beginning. It was the cumulative impact of players like Roots and Freeman that freed up others, as shown in Daly’s first-half try. It was a great Roots carry, with numbers in position, that gave Freeman the space to swerve through the Italian defence and provide the scoring pass.
If there’s a variety of ball-carriers then you’re not reliant on one or two and it’s much more difficult to defend. Roots and Freeman were almost symptoms of an England attack which, while not perfect, looked much more organised and ambitious than in previous years. Even England’s kicking was more varied, with Henry Slade and Daly as left-footed options. All these things accumulate and sow seeds of doubt in the defence.
England were behind at half-time but I felt far more positive about their first-half showing than about their performances last year. There was a noticeable, collective attitude from players to get themselves into position earlier, working harder off the ball.
I’ve always tried to look at how players are working off the ball. What are they doing? That dictates how good the collective effort is. I was impressed by the speed with which England’s players were getting themselves into dangerous positions. Roots was putting his hand up to carry often but the guys closest to him would clear out and Mitchell would be able to move the ball away quickly. But you can only use quick ball effectively if you have guys already in position for the next phase. That is key. A good way of telling if that has happened is if a scrum-half is blowing a bit and the fact Mitchell was replaced quite early in the second half despite impressing – unless he was injured – might have been a consequence of that.
Defensively, England went up more than one level in the second half. Monty Ioane’s late try will have frustrated them because it came out of nowhere and made the game look closer than it was, but in the first half their defence was the opposite of their attack. It was disjointed just a step off the pace. England weren’t getting into secondary positions quickly enough and you could see, with Italy in numbers out wide, what was going to happen. Clearly, at half-time, the players listened and reacted. The defence in the second half was markedly improved.
It was not flawless from England but Borthwick will take more heart from that performance than the scoreline. He’s building something from scratch, with Roots and Freeman embodying the team’s potential and the strides taken since the World Cup.