"First Ever Defeat" - 5 Things You Missed: Italy 23-18 England - 2026 Six Nations

Swirls of green, white and red smoke blew around the Stadio Olimpico, as an epic gladiatorial feel encompassed this Six Nations clash. England searched for a return to winning ways following two consecutive defeats, whilst Italy hunted a first ever win in this fixture.

Italy drew first blood after 20 minutes, as Paolo Garbisi punished England's off-side players with a swift penalty and a three-point lead. England would return fire through a Northampton inspired attack, as Fin Smith linked up with Alex Coles, to then assist Tommy Freeman for a walk-in score out on the touch-line. A missed conversion from Smith kept it to a two-point match.

The Stadio Olimpico then erupted in ovation, as Tommaso Menoncello broke across the gain-line for a phenomenal solo score. However, England would roll the dice once more in the first half, as Fin Smith's kick found Tom Roebuck out on the wing, for the Sale man to stride home in style. Smith's conversion handed England a 12-10 lead as the sides departed for the break.

England would break a brief second half dead-lock, that stood for four minutes. Fin Smith nailed a penalty to extend England's lead, after Jamie George won a scrum penalty upon the Italian put-in. Italy hooker Giacomo Nicotera was sent to the sin bin after 52 minutes, for knocking the ball from the hands of England scrum half Ben Spencer. Smith dutifully slotted the penalty, for an 18-10 lead in Rome.

Sam Underhill then joined Nicotera in the sin bin, as the Bath man landed a high shot on Italy prop Danilo Fischetti. Paolo Garbisi then nailed a stunning 40m strike, and a subsequent in-off-the-post penalty from out wide, to bring the deficit down to just two points for the closing 20 minutes. Maro Itoje then took a trip to the sin bin, as the England captain illegally batted the ball away in a maul.

Italy would strike with eight minutes remaining, for a stunning strike move. Paolo Garbisi sent a well-weighted kick out to Monty Ioane, who broke free along the touch-line. The ball then found Menoncello, for another stunning break, before Leonardo Marin was played in to score. The nail was plunged into England's coffin, as the streets would run green, white and red for a truly unforgettable night in the Eternal City.

TRIES: 2 (Menoncello 35', Marin 72')

CONVERSIONS: 1 (P. Garbisi 35', 72')

PENALTIES: 3 (P. Garbisi 21', 56', 60')

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Nicotera 52')

RED CARDS: 0

STARTING XV: 15. Lorenzo Pani 14. Louis Lynagh 13. Ignacio Brex 12. Tommaso Menoncello 11. Monty Ioane 10. Paolo Garbisi 9. Alessandro Garbisi 1. Danilo Fischetti 2. Giacomo Nicotera 3. Simone Ferrari 4. Niccolo Cannone 5. Andrea Zambonin 6. Michele Lamaro 7. Manuel Zuliani 8. Lorenzo Cannone

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Tommaso Di Bartolomeo 17. Mirco Spagnolo 18. Muhamed Hasa 19. Federico Ruzza 20. Riccardo Favretto 21. Alessandro Fusco 22. Leonardo Marin 23. Tommaso Allan

TRIES: 2 (Freeman 25', Roebuck 40')

CONVERSIONS: 1 (F. Smith 40')

PENALTIES: 2 (F. Smith 44', 53')

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 2 (Underhill 56', Itoje 64')

RED CARDS: 0

STARTING XV: 15. Elliot Daly 14. Tom Roebuck 13. Tommy Freeman 12. Seb Atkinson 11. Cadan Murley 10. Fin Smith 9. Ben Spencer 1. Ellis Genge 2. Jamie George 3. Joe Heyes 4. Maro Itoje 5. Alex Coles 6. Guy Pepper 7. Tom Curry 8. Ben Earl

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie 17. Bevan Rodd 18. Trevor Davison 19. Ollie Chessum 20. Sam Underhill 21. Henry Pollock 22. Jack van Poortvliet 23. Marcus Smith

The old adage says that records are made to be broken, and Gonzalo Quesada's Italian side have played their way into the record books tonight in Rome. After 32 straight defeats in a row to England, dating back to when the sides first met at the 1991 Rugby World Cup, Italy have finally experienced that winning feeling over the originators of the rugby union.

England would meet Italy annually, once the Azzurri would be introduced into the expanded Six Nations Championship back in 2000. It would take 25 consecutive defeats in a row for the cracks to show, with this latest time being the charm for the men in the famous royal blue. There is no denying that Italy's status within world rugby continues to rise, as gone are the days of the Azzurri being called to leave the Six Nations, with this latest victory truly beginning a new era of Italian success.

There was a last-minute change to the script, ahead of this fourth round clash in the 2026 Guinness Men's Six Nations, as England back row Tom Curry was withdrawn from action following an injury in the warm-up. Eagle eyed fans at the Stadio Olimpico would have spotted Curry being ushered off in some clear discomfort, with sources in Rome suggesting that the Sale man was injured in a warm-up rolling maul.

Whilst the specific nature of the injury was not confirmed prior to the match, the back row played no part in the historic defeat. Bath flanker Sam Underhill was instead promoted up into the starting XV, with the bench then populated by Chandler Cunningham-South following his role as a travelling reserve. Underhill would take a trip to the sin bin (more on that shortly), whilst Cunningham-South's brief cameo went under the radar of the partisan scenes across the Italian capital.

This match was far from a clean contest, as we wtinessed three players sent to the sin bin throughout the tense second half. First to make the walk of shame to the side-lines was Italy hooker Giacomo Nicotera, who had a sudden flash of madness as he swiped his arm at the ball, which was already in the grasp of England scrum half Ben Spencer. The technical foul was rightfully brandished with a yellow, as the hooker would return following his 10-minute cooling-off period.

Next into the bin was Sam Underhill, as we mentioned in the above entry - it was a tough afternoon for the bruiser from Bath. Despite being flung into the starting XV at the expense of an injured Tom Curry, Underhill laid in a high tackle on Italian prop Danilo Fischetti, which saw referee Karl Dixon look to the big screens for his assessment.

They say that these type of collisions always look worse in slow motion, yet there was no sugar coating the shoulder-to-head contact made by the Bath man. Underhill got his marching orders with the 'X' symbol thrown up by the referee, to issue an off-field review. Thankfully for Underhill and the England team, the mitigation factor of a slight drop in height was applied, as the yellow card threshold was not turned into a red.

Last to head to the bin was England captain Maro Itoje, who's moment of madness put his side in a tough spot for a the closing stages of the match. The Saracen and Lions skipper was sent to the touch-lines after illegally knocking the ball loose from Alessandro Garbisi's hands, as the lock battled beneath the laws of the game in an ill-advised maul disruption. Itoje could only sit and watch as Leonardo Marin ran in the match winning try, as the Stadio Olimpico erupted into a fever-pitch.

There was plenty of excitement surrounding the England centre axis, as Gloucester's young prospect Seb Atkinson was called upon to make his Six Nations debut. The midfielder took none less than a starting role in Steve Borthwick's plans, yet it was not the maiden tournament appearance that he would have been dreaming about ahead of the trip to Rome.

Atkinson had the tall order of lining up against Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex in the centre of the park, which proved to be simply too strong for the new-coming England man. The 23-year-old did make some nice touches on the attacking side of the ball, namely as he sent fluid passes nice and flat to bring in the forwards on crash ball lines, yet it was the defensive effort that simply did not stack up against the Benetton and Toulon battering rams.

There was once again a plethora of pre-match discussion around the England 10 jersey (when isn't there in all honesty), as George Ford was dropped from the helm of the side following the back-to-back defeats to Scotland and Ireland. Steve Borthwick made a bold statement as he shook up his squad with nine changes, and a 10th ahead of the match as Tom Curry was withdrawn.

Fin Smith was selected to start at fly half, with Marcus Smith providing a covering option from the bench, with no space in the entire squad for George Ford. Fin Smith had a slow start in the Eternal City, as the fly half threw a wayward intercepted pass to Juan Ignacio Brex, that was thankfully ruled off for a penalty advantage. The Saints man then had a 13th minute kick charged down, left a couple of missed kicks out on the pitch and was penalised for flying into a ruck straight off his feet.

So, with such an assortment of immediate errors, Smith would have had to put in some positives for his overall 'mixed bag' branding, for a 6/10 on the player ratings. The number 10 took the attack by the scruff of the neck at stages, as he spurred on England's opening score from Tommy Freeman. This helped Smith's confidence and the fly half bounced back towards the end of the first half, with great character shown to command the attack. Smith sent an inch-perfect kick out to Tom Roebuck, for the Sale wing to collect and stride home for the try.

However, Smith - like the majority of the England backs - would come undone upon the defensive foot against the game-breaking Italians. Smith struggled to make his tackles upon the likes of Monty Ioane, Menoncello and Brex, as the Azzurri clicked through their unpredictable gears ahead of an unforgettable finish. Leonardo Marin's score saw Smith a step away from Menoncello in the proceeding break, in what opitimised the defensive struggles that needed repairing within Steve Borthwick's side.