A different team but the same result for England. Head coach Simon Middleton made ten changes to the starting side that put ten tries and more than 50 points past Spain in their opening game on Wednesday. Yet they repeated those feats against stronger opposition in Italy here in Dublin. Three 2014 World Cup winners — Tamara Taylor, the second row, Marlie Packer, the flanker, and scrum half Natasha Hunt — as well as Amy Wilson Hardy, the wing, all played their first part in this campaign, and contributed to a more well-oiled performance. “Italy are always a real challenge to play against and if they get any chance they ask a lot of questions of you, but we dealt with things really well and…

Source: The Times August 13, 2017 17:03 UTC