Lancaster wary of physical Italians

There is a growing self-belief in the England team, but coach Stuart Lancaster is wary of the threat posed by lowly Italy.

Lancaster spoke of the maturity, leadership and self-assurance that helped England overturn Wales in Cardiff last Friday.

However, the England coach readily admits that result will count for little unless his side reinforces their progress by beating Italy on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of the new training week at Pennyhill Park, Lancaster credited pain-staking groundwork and planning for the absorbing 21-16 triumph at the Millennium Stadium.

While Rhys Webb's early try put the home team 10-0 up, England's "belief grew as the game went on", yielding both a powerful comeback and a deserved win.

Despite injured trio Kyle Eastmond, Geoff Parling and Brad Barritt resuming full contact sessions over the next two days, Lancaster hinted that many of his players had made compelling cases to keep their places.

Having watched an industrious, abrasive Italian eventually being sunk by Ireland (26-3), he also warned his charges against resting on their laurels – especially given an 18-11 scoreline when the Azzurri last visited Twickenham in 2013 that was far too close for comfort.

"Ireland got two tries in a relatively short period of time [against Italy], but aside from that it was very close throughout big periods of the game," Lancaster said.

"As we found two years ago at Twickenham, Italy have a strong set-piece. They are physical and play a lot of good rugby – you have to defend well.

"For us, we want to back up our performance and get our detail right. What gave us belief against Wales was our preparation.

"That was the point I made to the players – confidence comes from the foundations you build in the week. There will be no letting off."

Momentum is a buzz-word of modern rugby and feels especially pertinent for the Six Nations. Indeed, although Lancaster pointed out that England recovered from a last-gasp loss to France a year ago to win four matches, he agreed that last Friday's positive outcome paints a prettier picture.

A great deal of that boils down to the assertive qualities of the squad. Even without Courtney Lawes and Tom Wood – two hugely influential figures in recent successes, who are aiming to be fit for the Ireland clash on 28 February – there is a developing self-sufficiency about this group.

As Lancaster emphasised, this is now serving them well.

"There's a growing sense of leadership within the group. Quite a few players have been captain of their club teams, which helps – you've got James Haskell coming in as Wasps captain, [Leicester Tigers skipper] Ben Youngs stepping up.

"George Ford has that temperament to lead from flyhalf and the outside backs in particular were pleasing. Mike Brown I thought had an excellent game. His decision-making about when to run and kick was excellent.

"His growing level of maturity has helped us as well and that's something we've been pushing. Ultimately it's their team, so they have to own it and drive it."

@EnglandRugby

"We want to back up our performance & get our detail right" Lancaster focussing on preparation http://t.co/THQuofbpUW pic.twitter.com/E0KJUJbm88

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 9, 2015

Lock @dmjattwood was big during #WALvENG: 14 tackles (joint 2nd), 29 rucks (1st), 3 turnovers, 3 lineouts #stats pic.twitter.com/UqUjGUtsGe

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 9, 2015