Down to the wire England keep Six Nations bid alive with seven-try victory

England stayed in the chase for the Six Nations title with a bonus-point victory against Italy but lost Ollie Lawrence to an achilles injury that threatens his hopes of touring Australia with the British & Irish Lions.

- Luke McLaughlin

Steve Borthwick's side scored seven tries as they overwhelmed the Azzurri after a close first half in sunny south-west London, with the fly-half Fin Smith orchestrating the attack impressively.

The England wing Ollie Sleightholme claimed two tries, with further scores coming from Tom Willis, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Tom Curry and Ben Earl. But Lawrence went down injured and the Bath centre was taken off after nine minutes, bringing Marcus Smith off the replacements' bench much earlier than expected.