England have remained on course to complete a Six Nations grand slam with victory against Italy this afternoon.

The home side started brightly, but Italy's defence was strong, forcing England to rely on penalties to increase their score.

Toby Flood had a solid first half with the boot, successfully kicking all four of his attempts at the uprights.

The visitors looked to be restricting their opponents well, but Edoardo Gori was sin binned for an obstruction on Flood, allowing England to take a nine-point lead at the break.

Luke McLean added the only try of the game within 10 minutes of the restart, picking up the ball from Luciano Orquera before running down the wing and crossing the whitewash.

Flood added his sixth penalty of the game in the 62nd minute after an attempt to force the ball over for a try was unsuccessful, giving England a seven-point cushion heading into the final stages of the tie.

Italy pushed hard in the final minutes, but the hosts were able to keep their opponents from crossing the try line again to take the win.