The win is a massive boost for England coach Andy Robinson but he knows there is still room for improvement.

Here BBC Sport analyses the key battles that decided Saturday's contest at Twickenham.

Hodgson has struggled to fill the kicking boots of the injured Jonny Wilkinson so far this Six Nations and Saturday was no different with a tally of three kicks from seven attempts.

The Sale fly-half showed his undoubted rugby skills with some impressive passes to release the backline but Leicester's Andy Goode, who came on and converted Andy Hazell's late try, is knocking at the door.

Orquera is also trying to follow in the footsteps of another legend, this time Diego Dominguez, but he is also suffering in that role.

His forwards did manage to claim a lot of possession in patches but the Padova half-back could not get his three-quarters involved and questions remain about his ability at this level.

Kay is back to something like his best and made his presence felt in the line-out even though it looked shaky at times.

The Leicester forward was called on to add some steel to England's defence as Italy searched to find a way through and was one of the many pair of hands that contributed to England's third try.

Bortolami, who has emerged as one of the finest forwards in the Six Nations over the past couple of years, never gives anything less than 100% in every game and the match at Twickenham was no different.

He tried everything to give his side some go-forward and will be pleased by the overall Italian forward effort.

Balshaw revelled in his recall to the international scene and with Jason Robinson failing to hit the heights so far this year, his incision added a real spark to England's back play.

The Leeds full-back totally deserved his second-half try although he will want to forget his error near the end when he spooned an easy chance when it seemed easier to score.

South African-born Peens, brought in to solve Italy's kicking problems, was outshone by his dynamic rival.

He did convert Alessandro Troncon's second-half try but missed a 24th-minute penalty and inexplicably fired a 22 drop-out straight into touch which led to England's second try.

Young England tight-head Stevens, just 22, produced another solid display in only his second game despite coming up against a powerful Italian front row.

Stevens showed that he has what it takes to compete at this level and also showed his skills in the loose when he was in support to help Cueto score his second well-worked try.

Lo Cicero, one of the cornerstones of the Italian pack, is a formidable character but was subdued in the scrum by his opposite number.

The 28-year-old played his part when Italy tried to dominate up front, especially in the first half, but had one of his quieter games.