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