Steve Borthwick reacts to England's first ever defeat to Italy - Tom Curry 'doubtful' to play France

Following the match, England head coach Steve Borthwick arrived in the press conference room, flanked alongside by his captain Maro Itoje, to deliver their immediate reactions to a gut-wrenching 23-18 defeat. Borthwick spoke upon a manner of subjects across the strength of the Italians and how disclipline continues to prove costly for his side.

Having won 12 matches in a row as recently as their opening round of the Six Nations triumph over Wales, England now sit in a slump ahead of a daunting trip to France to close out their campaign. Here's the five biggest talking points from the England post-match press conference.

England had a problem upon their hands before the opening whistle had even sounded at the Stadio Olimpico, as Tom Curry was withdrawn from the pre-match warm-up with a calf injury. Curry was taken out of the match day squad, with Sam Underhill propelled into the starting back row, with Chandler Cunningham-South taking a seat amongst the bench. The Sale man was said to be 'doubtful' to make his return in line for next week's Six Nations closing match against France, as England end their campaign away at the Stade de France.

STEVE BORTHWICK: "I've not had any medical report yet, but looking at him, I think everyone would say that's doubtful right now.

"I had a very brief conversation with him. It was a calf injury."

It was never going to be an enjoyable post-match assessment for the England head coach, as Steve Borthwick addressed the media following a third straight defeat in the 2026 Six Nations. With the record of Italy's historic win adding salt to the wound, the disappointment was apparent from the England camp.

STEVE BORTHWICK: "We are obviously disappointed, it is right to congratulate Italy on a fantastic performance, they are an excellent team and everyone has been able to see that for a period of time.

"Clearly we are desperately disappointed and look back on two other losses [to Scotland and Ireland] so three losses in a row after 12 wins in a row, it clearly it is not where we want to be. What we are going to do is make sure we have a great weeks training and get to Paris to play against France."

England led 18-10 with just a quarter of an hour left to play in Rome, but Borthwick's side would succumb to a gut-punching defeat against a jubilant Italian side. Borthwick was quick to call upon how this has been one of the more competitive Six Nations in recent memory, as his side collapsed in the latter stages.

“I credit the opposition, you can see this Six Nations is incredibly competitive, right now as you have seen with the other result today [Scotland 50-40 France]. Teams can beat each other and if you drop off in period of the game, by just one or two per cent, that is where you get hurt - because the opposition are very good.

"The last two games at the start we were one or two per cent off where we wanted to be, at the start of the games, and the opposition took their opportunities. Today it was the last part of the game where we gave away two yellow cards, a couple of penalties and then we lost the aerial battle in the last 15 minutes, from 65 to 75 and that was enough for Italy to get on the scoreboard."

"There are a number of elements, you see the team trying to work. Clearly today was a different game to the last two when we have been down on the scoreboard early and left ourselves a mountain to climb. Today wasn’t like that, today at 60 minutes at 18-10, the team is control of the game.

"We had a scrum 20m out from their goal line, they have taken a winger off to put a hooker on and it is exactly where we want to be at this point in time, exactly. It goes back to a penalty 30m from our posts and a yellow card which is then followed by another yellow card and in that 10-15 minutes the momentum swung and they were able to get back into the game and get on the scoreboard."

Borthwick pulled a focus upon where he felt like the match was lost against the Azzurri, as his side yet again struggled to maintain their discipline.

"There's clearly some aspects....the discipline factor. We lost the penalty count again today and had two yellow cards. That needs to be better. Straight away throughout this tournament, that needs to be better."

"What's disappointing in so many ways is around the impact, the discipline factor that the cards have had so far for us in this tournament. If you look at it, it's not good enough. We've all been very clear and very transparent around it.

"We had seven yellow cards and a red card in four games. The opportunity that gives against a quality opposition. I think ultimately that period of 60/65 minutes was the key turning point today. I think the team, up to that point, had done a lot of very, very good things and got themselves into a winning position and looked to be controlling the game very well."

Despite the negativity that will cloud the result, Steve Borthwick was impressed with some number of his players that stood up to the occassion this evening in Rome. Having made a plethora of changes after the two defeats to Scotland and Ireland, Borthwick's re-shuffled side left an imprint on his future plans.

STEVE BORTHWICK: "I think some of the players who came in today, someone like Caden Murley, who I thought was exceptional. Unfortunately, I'm not shying away, I think I've been very clear, I'm not shying away from the result, which wasn't good enough. I think what's important is to recognise that certainly some individuals within that did some very good things. I was really pleased with Caden Murley.

"He's one I mentioned. I thought Seb Atkinson did a really good job. I thought Alex Coles played very well. Now, what we've got to do is ensure that as a team, collectively, for 80 minutes, we put in the performance we want to. The standard of this competition, the opposition are so good. If you drop off a couple of percent for a couple of minutes, then it hurts you and costs you a game. We've seen that again today."