Italian Six Nations threat won't be underestimated

England head coach Stuart Lancaster is adamant the memory of Italy's last Twickenham visit will be enough to keep the threat of over confidence and complacency from derailing his side on Saturday.
Italy slumped to a big loss against Ireland in Rome in the opening round of Six Nations fixtures last week and have again been written off as probably wooden spoon winners.
But in 2013 they gave England a real scare with the hosts needing Toby Flood to kick all the points in an 18-11 win which saw Luke McLean grab the only try for the visitors.
With that in mind, Lancaster has demanded that captain Chris Robshaw and his slow-starting players must make a faster and more positive opening than they managed in the win over Wales in their tournament opener last week.
Having settled some old scores in Cardiff, and laid down a solid platform for a potentially successful Six Nations campaign, England face a different proposition in the shape of the Azzurri.
They will be expected to win convincingly and in some style with a packed home crowd keen for the men in white to prove their World Cup credentials with the clock ticking to England 2015 a mere seven months away.
Yet a cautious Lancaster, who revealed that experienced Bath prop David Wilson will have neck surgery and be out for 10 to 12 weeks, said: "One thing you certainly learn over the years in top rugby is that you never under-estimate or take the opposition for granted.
"That's especially the case in the Six Nations where each team can beat the other on any given day.
"If you have one off day you usually get beat. So the plan is not to have an off day, or lower your level of performance or standards. We know full well what Italy are capable of doing on their day.
"They pushed us very close two years ago in a very tough match. We were never really comfortable at any stage because their forwards were really up for it.
"So it really is important that the guys pick up where we left off against Wales and, instead, of finding ourselves 10-0 behind early doors, we find ourselves in the ascendancy from the very start."
- Fast start -
Ben Youngs agrees with Lancaster's verdict and the England and Leicester scrum-half said: "We can talk for 10 days about getting a fast start but it's no good if you don't go out there and execute one.
"We have to stop playing catch up rugby and make the opposition chase us."
Lancaster hopes continuity will be the key, naming the same team and replacements as the 21-16 win in Cardiff.
That means Bath's Jonathan Joseph and Saracens' George Kruis will get their first Twickenham starts on Saturday.
Italy coach Jacques Brunel has made four changes to his side which came up well short during their Rome encounter last weekend.
Veteran lock Marco Bortolami steps back into the second row for his 111th cap while another centurian, flanker Mauro Bergamasco, pick up his 101st cap as Italy attempt to bounce back from the 26-3 loss to Ireland.
Brunel hopes his men can repeat their battling performance the last time they visited Twickenham.
"We must match England up front again. If the forwards can do that and keep the crowd quiet, then we can give England problems," he said.
"We must also prove we are a better team than the Ireland defeat."
Source: AFP