After achieving a Grand Slam in 2011, Rob Hunter's men have now won eight straight games and despite having two men sent to the sin-bin - Tom Price and Matt Kvesic - they still had too much for Italy to deal with.

Gloucester starlet Robson crossed twice and helped set up tries for Sam Hill and Ben Ransom with Charlie Walker and Josh Bassett also crossing.

England did not have things all their own way however when Vittorio Marazzi became the first player to score against them in this year's Championship while Anthony Watson and Henry Slade went off with injuries.

The match was being played in Rovigo after the initial game was postponed three weeks ago and England made a sluggish start.

Eventually it was their set-piece that forced the breakthrough when the red rose scrum put their Italian counterparts into reverse giving Robson the space to spread the ball to Hill to touch down for the second game running.

Even when Price was sin-binned, they could still extend their lead as Quins star Charlie Walker - the man-of-the-match in the defeat of Wales at the Stoop last week - showed he still had plenty of gas in the tank to outpace the Italian defence.

Provider Robson then turned finisher when he capitalised on good work by Ransom but Italy struck back before the break with Kvesic in the bin and after putting on a shove in the scrum Vittorio Marazzi touched down.

Being short of a man did not seem to affect England as Robson again demonstrated his eye for a gap and outright pace to again leave the Italian defenders trailing in his wake en route to his second try.

Slade, who had converted all three first-half tries, had now been replaced by Tommy Bell who picked up where he left off and he then combined with Robson to set up the flying Ranson.

Replacement Josh Bassett, the Bedford Blues winger, then flew over in the final play of the game with Bell's conversion rounding off the scoring.