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Rugby Union

Ashton wary of physical Azzurri

10/02/2007

England head coach Brian Ashton has warned his team not to get overconfident after their win against Scotland last week as they head into their Six Nations game with Italy.

Ashton expects the Italians to pose a physical challenge to England and says they must not take the Azzurri's threat lightly.

He said: "We have talked about the mentality of winning, and we have enough experience in this team now to know what it takes to win Test matches.

"Italy will take us on in the scrum and in the lineout, they will box-kick and they will be very confrontational."

Ashton was pleased with the performance against Scotland but said there were many areas which other teams could take advantage of in future if they did not make changes.

"Discipline is hugely important, and conceding 14 penalties last week was unacceptable," he said.

Italy coach Pierre Berbizier believes his side can give England a severe test when they travel to Twickenham today but says the team must capitalise on every opportunity they create.

He said: "In the first half against France we had plenty of chances to win points but we made only three.

"Our climb towards the top tier of world rugby is a race against time. The problem is that we don't have much of it."

England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson can become the leading points scorer in Six Nations history today and could also put his international points record over the 900 mark, a milestone which few other players have achieved.

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