Ashton: We're ready for Italy

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The World Cup finalists have endured a week from hell. First beaten at home by Wales, then deprived of five players - Mike Tindall, David Strettle, Andrew Sheridan, Lewis Moody and Tom Rees - through injury or illness, Ashton could have been excused for locking the door and lying down in a darkened room.

But Ashton said: "We are going into the game in a very positive frame of mind. We cleared up on Monday what happened last weekend."

He added: "The players have worked very hard this week. There has been a good level of execution and accuracy in training.

"You can't hide away from what happened last weekend, and when it does happen, you have to address it.

"I wasn't happy at all with the last 20 minutes against Wales. We addressed it on Monday, and I am very confident that God forbid, if we were in that situation again, the outcome would be slightly different."

The casualty count could yet increase, with captain Phil Vickery battling to overcome a calf muscle injury that threatens his participation at Stadio Flaminio.

If Vickery, who was hurt during training in Bath on Thursday, is ruled out, then Matt Stevens will deputise at tighthead prop with uncapped Bristol forward Jason Hobson joining the replacements.

Either Jonny Wilkinson, who was verbally slaughtered by many pundits following his poor second-half display against Wales, or lock Steve Borthwick are likely to take leadership reins in Vickery's absence.