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Steve Borthwick admitted there is ‘plenty to improve on’ after securing his first Six Nations victory as England head coach on Sunday.

England put their opening-game defeat to Scotland behind them to see off Italy 31-14 at Twickenham, where they ran in five tries in an impressive display.

The Italians were 19-0 down at half-time and fought back after the break, leaving Borthwick to admit there is still plenty of work to be done as he rebuilds confidence and morale following the Eddie Jones era.

After falling to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup clash despite building an eight-point lead, England lost the second half 14-12 on Sunday - and tension hung in the air until Henry Arundell crossed in the 70th minute.

But Borthwick believes he now has something to build on ahead of the next Six Nations clash with Wales in round three.

“There were some positive small steps forward. We’re trying to rebuild this team and we’ve taken some steps forward,” he said.

“There’s plenty to improve on. We left plenty of chances out there. Our ruck speed could have been quicker. When our ruck speed went up, we stressed the defence more. When it slowed down, we didn’t.

“We conceded some opportunities late in the game and we’ll have a good look why because that’s happened for two weeks running now.

“We were in a winning position late in the game against Scotland but let it slip. We’ll have a good look at that to make sure we’re better.”

Italy head coach Kieran Crowley admitted his side failed to match England in the physicality stakes as the Azzurri were given a reality check at Twickenham.

“We always knew England would come out and be very direct,” said Crowley.

“They put us under pressure and got their driving maul going. They played as expected but we just did not handle it as well as we hoped to.

“They defended well and we were getting slow ball after slow ball. They controlled the breakdown.

“But you’ve got to have a plan B and we need to come up with a more accurate plan B.”