Italy 19-23 England: Brian Ashton's preparations are dealt a blow after skipper Phil Vickery is ruled out with a stomach bug
Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson is under pressure after the Wales defeat but starts brightly in the Rome sunshine
And his superb chip and offload releases wing Paul Sackey for England's opening try after just four minutes
Italy pull the score back to 6-7 but pacy centre Toby Flood beats his man on the outside and scores in the corner
Wilkinson converts both tries, to reach 1000 points for England, as well as adding two penalties in the opening period
Inspirational Azzurri skipper Sergio Parisse is at the heart of the Italian effort but his backs struggle to make ground
Italy are fired up after the break and shackle England well, as the visitors lose their way
Ashton sends on precocious fly-half Danny Cipriani to try and get a spark back into England's play
But Cipriani has a kick charged down by Simon Picone, who picks up and runs in to put Italy within four points
England hang on but they know they will have to improve massively if they are to beat France in Paris on 23 February
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