England dug themselves out of a snow-hole in freezing Rome to beat Italy 19-15 with another charge-down try from Charlie Hodgson and Owen Farrell's perfect kicking display.
The Azzurri, who had never beaten England in 17 previous Test matches, profited from two Ben Foden mistakes in as many minutes at the end of the first half to claim a 12-6 lead.
Wing Giovanbattista Venditti pounced on a loose ball to score in the corner and then centre Tommaso Benvenuti picked off a Foden pass on halfway to score under the posts.
Suddenly, a historic England defeat looked on the cards. A defeat that would have left interim coach Stuart Lancaster with tough questions to answer about his "new era".
But Hodgson rescued England with his second charge-down try in as many weeks and Farrell completed a 14-point haul with four penalties and a tough conversion.
Italy still had their chances to win the game but replacement kicker Tobias Botes failed with two simple shots at goal, one which barely got off the ground.
Hodgson praised England for not panicking as they maintained their 100 per cent start to the Six Nations.
"We knew we had to keep our composure," Hodgson told BBC1.
"The first half I felt we dominated and they had a lucky try and that got them away.
"But we didn't lose our heads and came good in the end.
"To come back and be successful shows what resolve we have."
Asked what coach Stuart Lancaster's message had been at half-time, when his side trailed 12-6, Farrell said: "I think it was just to keep doing what we're doing, we don't have to chase anything.
"I felt we were still on top in the first half and credit to the boys we dug in."