Vickery: We must improve

England are strong favourites for the Twickenham match but Vickery is mindful of Italy's powerful and experienced pack

"Italy have got a really physical team - and with Alessandro Troncon coming back in at scrum-half, they have a huge amount of experience to add to what we already know about them," Vickery said.

"We got our driving game going against Scotland - and from a performance point of view, we made some huge steps forward. But we need to be better against an Italian pack that has real clout, size and knowledge.

"We have to go up a gear, because it is a new challenge for us. We cannot afford to slip back into just thinking because we are England, then we will win."

Italy have never beaten England and after their Jonny Wilkinson-inspired win over Scotland, the Twickenham faithful will be expectiong another comprehensive victory.

But the Wasps prop was quick to warn against complacency and said Italy will be desperate to bounce back following their 39-3 loss to France last weekend.

"Italy will be very disappointed with their performance against France," added Vickery, who received his 50th cap against Scotland.

"They know they hugely under-performed by their own standards, and they will have nothing to lose coming to Twickenham," added Vickery.

"Some people may expect us to win well against Italy, but this is a totally different prospect.

"It will be a tough day at the office - and if anyone thinks we will be running up lots of points, they will be proved wrong."