LEWIS MOODY has warned England's victorious rugby squad not to take Italy lightly as they prepare for their clash in Thomas sabo charms Rome on Sunday.
England put their nightmare November behind them by beating Wales 30-17 in their Six Nations opener last Saturday.
Earlier, Italy lost 29-11 away to Grand Slam champions Ireland and although the Azzurri are favourites for the wooden spoon again, Moody says England cannot expect an easy ride from the home side.
"It is going to take every bit of our dog, heart and enthusiasm to get a result in Rome," said the flanker.
"The Italians are right up with the best in terms of physicality and they are big strong men, making a real nuisance of themselves doing all that hard work which is what they pride themselves on in the scrums and line-outs. "Their ball carrying makes it very difficult for you and while the injured Sergio Parisse is a talisman for them, they will pick themselves up by 50 per cent in Rome from that performance against Ireland. The home crowd will give them a real lift."
The last meeting between the teams at the Stadio Flaminio in 2008 saw England race into a 20-6 lead but the home side roared back and lost by just three points.
Moody said: "Italy love giving England a tough battle and long gone are the days when you would put 50 or 60 points on them in the Six Nations.
"Their players are with the best clubs in Europe, they know their rugby and it will be very difficult challenge for us. We have to try and dominate them up front but it could take 80 minutes to achieve that because they graft so hard and there is never any quarter given.
"Handling expectation is a group thing and the experienced guys like myself have to help the players who haven't been out here to understand how difficult the challenge will be in Rome and what's coming their way.
"I have been to Rome numerous times and replica hublot watches only one of those games has been a big victory and the other have all been really tough and we have to get that message across."
Moody is taking heart from the way England regrouped after throwing away a healthy lead against Wales.
He added: "That game was a real test of our character because we had them at 20-3 and could have put the nail in but then it came back to 20-17 and they played some good rugby.
"It was a make or break time and thanks to the work we have done off the pitch we were awesome and got James Haskell's try at the end."
Steve Borthwick had a stomach upset today which forced him out of training but the captain is expected to be fit to train tomorrow when the team will be announced with a recall for centre Riki Flutey the only expected change.
Flutey has recovered from a thigh injury so Toby Flood will drop down to the bench.
Borthwick (right) received plenty of plaudits for his performance against Wales -- in stark contrast to the flak he has taken over the past 18 months with serious questions raised over his position as national leader and ability to play at Test level.
Clip on charmsMoody has total confidence in his captain and said: "Steve was fantastic all week before the Wales win and leads by example in everything.
"He is robotic in his approach to the game to ensure he knows all aspects and that showed in
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