England 14 Italy 15: World Cup minnows Italy leave England stunned

An almighty thunderstorm during the first half of this World Cup ‘warm-up’ game had left everyone, not just the drenched players, exactly the opposite – decidedly cold, wet and miserable.

Error-ridden England had to wait until the 37th minute, when Gareth Widdop converted Sam Tomkins’s second try, to finally eke out a barely deserved 14-12 interval lead against Italian minnows.

However, the extreme conditions were seen as offering some mitigation for their bitty and erratic display while the glittering rainbows that met their arrival for the second period, it was felt, would surely herald a transformation in performance too.

Not so. Steve McNamara’s squad – just seven days out from their crucial World Cup opener against Australia – only conspired to deliver yet more ineptitude and cluttered play to eventually suffer one of the international game’s biggest shocks.

The gallant Azzurri, priced at 1,000-1 to win the World Cup with their disparate group of journeymen Australians and part-time continental players, were widely presumed to be cannon fodder for England.

But they definitely held their gilded hosts out for the entire second period – in fairness, England rarely looked threatening – and levelled the game with Ray Nasso’s 70th-minute penalty.

Josh Mantellato was then the hero when, after Josh Charnley coughed up a rudimentary kick with the sort of basic handling error that blighted England’s performance, he nervelessly slotted a drop-goal with just two minutes remaining.

It was hardly the homecoming ex-Bradford Bulls star Sam Burgess had been expecting.

The South Sydney forward, making his first appearance on English soil since featuring in the 2009 Four Nations final, admitted: “What we displayed out there isn’t England rugby league.

“They are not the standards we’ve set for each other, which is the most disappointing thing.

“We’ve got to take it as a kick up the backside or a wake-up call, whichever way you want to call it.”

Australia coach Tim Sheens was in the crowd watching – his squad preferred to go watch Manchester United a few miles down the road – and will certainly not have been unduly concerned by anything he witnessed.

Indeed, Yorkshireman Burgess, who has become a celebrity Down Under, admits the Kangaroos will be “rubbing their hands” at seeing what England served up here but he is equally confident the rustiness can be eradicated in time for Saturday. It has to be.

“People are going to have their opinions after that game,” added the 24-year-old from Dewsbury.

“That’s fair enough and it comes with the territory. But as players we’ve just got to knuckle down and probably ignore what’s being said about us.

“We’ve got to focus on ourselves and our own individual performances.

“That’s probably the best thing we can do and hopefully we can turn people’s opinions around by next Saturday.

“It’s something we’ll learn a lot from as a group and hopefully it puts a bit of strength in us for the next six weeks.”

Italy deserved nothing less than victory in this historic first meeting between the sides and they will now look ahead to their opener against Wales in Cardiff with renewed confidence.

Well-organised, resolute and disciplined, St Helens prop Anthony Laffranchi had given them an eighth-minute lead as he wrestled over from close range.

It was alarming how easily he was able to score, however, and when hooker Dean Parata did likewise in the 24th minute McNamara must have been fuming.

Mantellato converted both and, though Carl Ablett scored in between, the fact the Leeds Rhinos player had to juggle Liam Farrell’s pass pointed at the problems the hosts continually had.

Rarely can an England side have shown so little control with their execution; as always, they were commanding enough up front but whenever they went wide the accuracy of the passing was inevitably poor.

Tomkins’s innate eye for the line got them out of trouble initially as he extended his record as England’s top try-scorer but captain Kevin Sinfield missed two conversion attempts including a simple shot that struck an upright and they were fortunate to be ahead at the midpoint.

Remarkably, it was not until the 66th minute they then created another chance of real note and, typically, Gareth Hock’s slack pass gave even Ryan Hall little chance of finishing.

After Nasson had levelled, Sinfield did put Widdop through down the middle only for the Melbourne Storm stand-off to force a pass that was never on.

It proved costly as Italy responded with the crucial one-pointer to leave England’s World Cup plans in an unexpected mess.

Burgess – who knows just what to expect come Saturday having lived and breathed the NRL for the last four years – conceded: “May be we did look too much towards the Australia game but we’ve got to live in the now for the rest of this tournament or else you get on the wrong end of the result like we did (on Saturday). Hopefully that stands us in good stead.”

The surprise result came barely 24 hours after USA – another team, like Italy, set for their World Cup debut – stunned France 
22-18 in Toulouse.

England: Tomkins; Hall, Ablett, Cudjoe, Briscoe; Chase, Sinfield; Graham, McIlorum, Mossop, Hock, Farrell, S Burgess. Substitutes: Charnley, Watkins, Widdop, Burrow, Hill, Roby, G Burgess.

Italy: A Minichiello; Mantellato, Tedesco, Guerra, Saltonstall; Ghietti, Maccan; Laffranchi, Parata, Vaughan, M Minichello, Santi, Riethmuller. Substitutes: Falcone, Hiscox, Celerino, Gardel, Calegari, Centrino, Ciraldo, Ciaurro, Nasso, Musalino, Tramonte.

Referee: Richard Silverwood (England).