England vs. Italy: Score and Reaction from 2017 Six Nations Round 3

England moved back to the summit of the 2017 Six Nations standings on Sunday after bulldozing their way to a 36-15 win over Italy at Twickenham.

Coach Eddie Jones' side extended their record-breaking run of consecutive wins to 17 and came back from a half-time deficit to preserve their 100-percent record in this year's tournament.

England made four changes to their starting XV from the team that defeated Wales 21-16 in Week 2, with new faces Danny Care and Ben Te'o both on the scoresheet alongside Dan Cole, Elliot Daly and a Jack Nowell brace. Giovanbattista Venditti and Michele Campagnaro got on the scoresheet for the guests.

ESPN Scrum's Tom Hamilton noted just how close the fixture was at times, highlighting the fine work of the Italian defence in spite of a sizable gap in scoreline:

Italy started positively in their trip to London and were almost first on the scoreboard before Tommaso Allan shifted his early penalty attempt wide of the left post following Nathan Hughes' illegal move at the breakdown.

England struggled to get out of second gear in the first 20 minutes and were successfully frustrated by their opponents for the first quarter, albeit without the Italians posing much of a threat of their own.

Attempts to play glamorous rugby had little effect, however, and prop Dan Cole reverted to uglier measures from a line-over on the right touchline, grunting over in the 24th minute on the back of a mighty maul:

Owen Farrell was unable to add the conversion, after which Italy attempted to respond in kind with a mauling effort of their own, but an apparent shoulder knock was all lock Marco Fuser received for his troubles.

Fortunately, coach Conor O'Shea's side continued to grind away at their hosts and reduced the deficit to just two points when Allan calmly slotted a drop goal from 30 yards following a sustained period of Italian pressure.

The frustrations didn't end there for England, though. Italy went one step further in snatching a lead just before half-time, when winger Venditti was quickest to react to another Allan penalty attempt, this time thudding off the post.

Venditti collected under heavy fire before running in the game's second try on the stroke of half-time, and Allan added the extras with seconds remaining until the interval to hand his side a shock 10-5 lead at the break:

Replacement Italy scrum-half Giorgio Bronzini had a hand in building that momentum after Edoardo Gori left the pitch for a head injury assessment, and the former kept his place after the restart.

England were in need of a considerable turnaround in fortunes if the pendulum was to swing back in their favour, and former international fly-half Paul Grayson didn't hide his dissatisfaction with the home side's first-half display:

It was at this point the wheels started to come off the bus for Italy, starting with Care's try from a quick tap and go in the 44th minute to level the score at 10 points apiece, leaving the Italian defence scratching their heads as to what had transpired:

And it was a similar circumstance that saw Wasps winger Daly grab his second try in as many matches, with Italy once again left in England's dust as the home team stepped up their tempo several notches.

Flanker James Haskell's drive toward the 22 helped open the space Daly needed to spring clear deep in Italian territory, and the Wasps whiz sprinted free before Farrell scored the conversion to snatch a 17-10 lead.

Italy were unbending in their will to fight back against daunting opposition, however, and responded through Campagnaro, who picked up the ball from long range before running in a memorable effort to reduce England's lead to 17-15:

Campagnaro hasn't been considered a nailed-on starter under O'Shea's reign thus far, leaving Simon Thomas of WalesOnline to question why in the wake of a wonderful solo score:

Italy's capitulation from here was swift, however, as the guests twice left themselves short of men on the left side, first allowing substitute Nowell to slip in before Ben Te'o marked his first England start with a try.

Te'o's was easily the more impressive of those two tries, and it was a beastly run from replacement prop Kyle Sinckler through the core of the Italian defence that opened up the chasm for his centre to run into, via ITV Rugby:

Ten minutes after grabbing his first, Nowell finished off a second under the posts as Italy's engines ran dry, and the hosts ultimately illustrated their credentials as title challengers in spite of a slow first half.

The Six Nations Championship will head for another week's respite before resuming on Friday, March 10, with England scheduled to host third-placed Scotland that Saturday in what promises to be a more testing fixture.

Meanwhile, the Azzurri will welcome France to Rome in Week 4 as they continue their search for a maiden 2017 victory, and as coach O'Shea is under increased pressure to avoid a whitewash tournament defeat.

Post-Match Reaction

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Despite the fact England were able to maintain their unbeaten record in this year's championship, there was little to console coach Jones in the wake of Sunday's result.

BBC Sport's Tom Fordyce provided quotes from the Australian's post-match press conference, where he insisted those in attendance seek to recoup some of their expenses:

Such was the disappointment with which Jones treated the match, irrespective of his side's second-half comeback, presumably seeking far greater improvements for the two remaining fixtures agains Scotland and Ireland.

The fixture was also marked by a string of questionable refereeing decisions and ill discipline from both sets of players, although O'Shea insisted his bunch abided by the laws at all times:

The final scoreline told the tale of two sides who were far apart in terms of quality, although the Italy boss reinforced the idea that the Azzurri came to Twickenham to play:

There has been murmurs of the Six Nations either being expanded or Italy dropped from the competition altogether, per Sky Sports' Allan Valente, but O'Shea suggested his team is here to stay.