O’Shea: England had too much power

Conor O’Shea conceded England simply had too much power at Twickenham on Saturday but he was “immensely proud” of his Italy side after they were crushed 57-14 in the Six Nations.

The Azzurri’s losing streak in the tournament was extended to 21 matches, the excellent Manu Tuilagi and Brad Shields claiming doubles as England scored eight tries to move just a point behind leaders Wales with one round remaining.

A classy score from Tommaso Allan – which brought Italy level – and a second-half Luca Morisi try gave Italy fans something to shout about, but they remain without a point.

Head coach O’Shea was pleased to see Italy battle on but felt they were unable to match the physicality of Eddie Jones’ men.

@EnglandRugby keep their #GuinnessSixNations title challenge alive with an eight-try victory

 #ENGvITA highlights pic.twitter.com/OyHsn4cKFr

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 9, 2019

“It was difficult,” said O’Shea. “That was an incredibly powerful England performance.

“We tried to play and we created a lot when we had the opportunity, but there was too much power out there.

“I’m immensely proud of all of these boys because they never stopped trying.

“What you saw out there was a lot of people who played until the end. I wouldn’t get too carried away with the scoreline against us.

“It was straight one-on-one tackles that cost us dearly but there were some individuals who put in an incredible shift for us.”

Italy face France in Rome in their last match of the tournament next Saturday.

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