NEW: Jones wants England to ‘light up Rome’

Eddie Jones says England “want to light up Rome” as they bid to bounce back from the narrow opening Six Nations defeat by Scotland when they face Italy on Sunday.

Jones’ injury-hit side are hoping to inflict a record-extending 34th straight defeat in the competition on the Italians, who look set for another wooden spoon.

Despite the disappointment of losing in Edinburgh Jones could take heart the 20-17 defeat which was largely self-inflicted.

A penalty try drew Scotland level at 17-17 — and his team were without stalwarts such as captain Owen Farrell and loose forward Courtney Lawes.

“We want to light up Rome,” said Jones.

“We want to play some really good rugby, we think we will get a lot of kick returns.

“Italy will kick approximately 20 times to us, so we need to make sure we’re really good on our kick returns which is going to be our main source of possession.”

Jones expects a “tough game” as “these matches are called Test matches because the opposition tests you.

“It is not a festival game.”

However, the 62-year-old Australian has been pleased in the way his squad reacted to the Scotland loss.

“The thing about these situations is there’s a lot of outside noise, a lot of opinions, a lot of judgement on players,” he said.

“It’s important for the team to understand what is important, what we need to do rather than getting seduced by other comments.

“Staying committed to the team is the most important thing. I’ve seen a lot of that this week.”

England should have too much firepower for an Italy side which is in the early stages of their development under coach Kieran Crowley.

The Kiwi’s policy is to continue as his predecessor and now Head of High Performance Franco Smith did in blooding youngsters.

Their most high profile player is one who was given their Test debut by Smith, 21-year-old fly-half Paolo Garbisi in 2020.

The playmaker’s talent has seen him supplant Rugby World Cup winner Handre Pollard as starting fly-half at Top 14 club Montpellier.

Another youngster who may become a mainstay of the side in the years to come is 19-year-old wing Tommaso Menoncello, who on his debut became the Six Nations’ youngest ever try scorer when he put Italy ahead at the Stade de France.

Menoncello has been dropped from the 23-men squad, instead of Bordeaux-Begles’ Federico Mori, who has scored three tries for the French outfit this season.

He is one of three changes to the starting line-up, and Crowley says whilst there is much to work on they can make more progress on Sunday as there were encouraging moments against France.

“The match against France gave us indications on our work done so far,” Crowley said.

“With the right attitude and greater precision we have the possibility to continue on our path of growth,” he added.

Another Italy new boy is Toa Halafihi, a New Zealand-born number eight who has qualified for Italy through residency after joining Treviso in 2019.

Halafihi told AFP that he “never thought” he would play Test rugby, but gets another run out after making his debut against France as Jake Polledri and Johan Meyer are injured.

“England are England, you can only expect the best, just like every team in the Six Nations,” he said.

“We will review and get better.

“We will get ready for England as best as we can, and hopefully make our country proud.” – AFP