Marlie Packer terrorises Italy to keep England’s Six Nations defence on track

Marlie Packer may have made her England debut 18 years ago but she is playing some of her best rugby, with the openside flanker once again key as the Red Roses set up a Championship decider against France next Sunday. The former England captain has won back the starting shirt because of the unavailability of other players after falling down the pecking order in the international setup.

At the World Cup last year Packer only played one match, against Samoa in the pool stage. She has said she will be there for the team that “means so much” to her in whatever capacity she is needed by the head coach, John Mitchell, but is proving she can still do more than a good job in a white shirt. The 36-year-old scored four tries in sunny Parma and also brought her leadership experience too.

It was announced before kick-off that England had suffered another injury blow as Maddie Feaunati was ruled out with a leg injury. Haineala Lutui started and Abi Burton moved to the back row but the injury happened earlier in the week and the Exeter No 8 did not travel with the England squad. The change also saw Christiana Balogun come on to the bench and the back-rower won her first cap in the 64th minute. The landmark career moment for the Bristol player, who does not have a contract and works as a recruitment consultant, came just over three years after being given the all-clear from blood cancer.

The match was a foregone conclusion after 20 minutes but if England have any area to work on it would be their defence as, for the second match running, their opposition secured a try bonus point. But that is not to take away from Italy, who had headed into the match off the back of an impressive win against Scotland. The team knew the scale of the task to beat England, given they have never defeated them before, but Fabio Roselli’s team did not fade and they scored the most points they have ever scored against the Red Roses.

Mia Venner escapes the Italy defence to score for England. Photograph: Emmanuele Ciancaglini/RFU/Getty Images

Italy were relaxed before kick-off. They played cards with one another at the team hotel and shared an espresso before heading to the stadium. That soon changed during the passionate anthem in hot and humid conditions. The English fans looked to be outnumbering those of the hosts with cowboy hats plentiful in the Parma stands, but when the singing got under way it was evident the Italians had the crowd advantage.

It was a hugely physical start from the hosts, including a big hit on Emma Sing from Vittoria Zanette. It left the full-back with a grimace on her face and hands on her hips as she got back to her feet but it was the visitors who were first on the scoresheet with Packer pouncing on a grubber kick.

The three Italian first-half tries had the ground pumping at the break despite England being in full control. Burton started the second half by scoring with Packer securing her third and fourth tries next. The Saracens player said: “Coming off the back of the World Cup I just wanted to get back at [club] and play my rugby and my form from there has carried me through into this Six Nations. Opportunities have occurred and I am just loving it.”

Italy did a great job in defence in the closing stages of the match as they halted England from scoring after the hour. It was also a deafening end to the match with the hosts pushing for their fifth try which they secured through Francesca Sgorbini.

“I am not looking for the score, I focus on the performance,” said the Italy head coach, Roselli. “We knew from the start we were going to play against the strongest team in the world. We had to work hard because we wanted them to show they are the best. If we cancelled the first 15 minutes, we gave a gift to England and they didn’t need one. After that I was very proud with the [performance] and the tries.”

Italy will hope to finish their campaign on a high as they travel to Cardiff to face Wales, while England head to Bordeaux to try to seal their eighth consecutive Six Nations crown. The Red Roses remain favourites to lift the trophy again but Italy and Wales have proven there are ways to break them down with France perhaps quietly confident they could produce an upset.