Frustrated England winger Mark Cueto believes England were in a "no-win situation" for their RBS Six Nations clash against Italy.
England winger insists two wins from two is all that counts
Frustrated England winger Mark Cueto believes England were in a "no-win situation" for their RBS Six Nations clash against Italy.
England claimed an uninspiring 17-12 win against the Azzurri in Rome on Sunday, and Cueto admits his side must step up from that display if they are to defeat Ireland at Twickenham on February 27.
However, the Sale Sharks wing insists regardless of that performance England deserve more credit, as one of only two undefeated sides in the competition.
Frustrated
"You are in a no-win situation against Italy," said Cueto. "If you win like we did here everyone is booing as you come off and expects you to win by more. If you win by more everyone says 'no disrespect, but it is only Italy'.
"We have won the game, we are two from two which is where we want to be."
England were indeed booed from the pitch in Rome following their scrappy performance, which was a stark contrast to France's superb 33-10 demolition of Ireland.
But fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, who salvaged the match with a drop goal after Italy fought back from 14-6 down to cut the deficit to two points, believes the final score is ultimately the only thing that counts against the Azzurri.
"It is always tough against them and maybe we didn't play as much as we wanted but I think more and more teams will make sure it is just about the result when they come here," said Wilkinson.
"We are a team that is keen to get on a winning role and to date we have played two and won two."
Opportunities
England manager Martin Johnson has regularly admitted during his 18-month tenure that his side fail to maximise opportunities, and centre Mathew Tait, who posted the only try of the match in Rome, believes England must continue to improve on this area or risk heavy punishment from the Irish.
"We were fairly clinical and precise in some of our backs moves but ultimately we didn't finish those chances," said Tait.
"That's going to be something big to work on. We know we're going to get fewer chances than that against Ireland and we have to make sure we take them."
