Rome (AFP) - Italy captain Michele Lamaro praised his side’s dogged defence as they earned a first ever win over England on Saturday in a tense Six Nations thriller.

Italy hit back from 18-10 down early in the second half to beat England 23-18 in front of almost 69,000 spectators in Rome.

Tries from Tommaso Menoncello and Leonardo Marin, plus 13 points from the boot of fly-half Paolo Garbisi, cancelled out England scores from Tommy Freeman and Tom Roebuck.

“We felt tension before the game as we were nervous,” Lamaro told British television station ITV.

“We were close the whole game. We fought together as always.

“We stuck together as a wall in defence.”

Italy have really kicked on since Argentine Gonzalo Quesada took over after the 2023 World Cup.

Two years ago they earned a draw away to France and finished with a record of two wins, one draw and two defeats – their best set of results from a Six Nations.

If they beat Wales next week in Cardiff, they would better that by winning three matches in the tournament for the first time.

“I am feeling amazing because it was a tough game,” Quesada told ITV.

“These are not nice games and not beautiful, but I think we totally deserve this win.

“To win today, with expectations to win against an amazing England side, is such a big step in our growth.

“We have to keep our feet on the ground and not get too excited – we have to keep going, but it is a big day for Italian rugby today.”

- Defeat ‘on players’ -

In a match which was close throughout, there was little to separate the two sides, but discipline made the difference with England picking up two yellow cards to Italy’s one.

“Credit to Italy, who have come a long way,” England coach Steve Borthwick told ITV.

“We are gutted. For 60 minutes, we are in control and those two sin-bins hurt us.

“Discipline is a significant factor. It is something we have to improve.”

Before the tournament began, with England on an 11-match winning streak, Borthwick had spoken about next week’s trip to Paris being a potential title-decider against France.

Instead, England will be merely hoping to avoid the wooden spoon and getting a win that would see them finish no higher than fourth.

“As we look at this over the last 12 months, we have been scoring a lot of tries, but right now we’re not able to apply as much scoreboard pressure as we want because we are not getting over the line,” Borthwick told BBC Sport.

“There are a couple of areas, especially in the breakdown, where we are turning over the ball too much.

“Clearly, this is a really challenging and tough time. We talk about intensity all week, and I thought their intensity was very good today, but it was our discipline that cost us.

“I have seen the players, and they are really feeling this.”

The two England yellow cards, which came shortly after Italy hooker Giacomo Nicotera was sent to the sin-bin, turned the game in the Azzurri’s favour.

“It is disappointing. I think it is on us as players – we have to own the performance,” captain Maro Itoje, who was yellow-carded alongside flanker Sam Underhill, told BBC radio.

“This team has put together good performances over the past year, but recently we haven’t.

“We have to face the facts and get back to work.”

Itoje added: “As captain, I take responsibility for that.”