Italy's Mirco Bergamasco had a late solo try and Pez converted to cut the gap to eight points before England replacement James Simpson-Daniel crossed in the 80th minute and Hodgson converted.
"I thought our second-half performance was very good," England coach Andy Robinson said. "But we also have to give credit to Italy."
Defending champion Wales plays Scotland at Millennium Stadium today.
Last year's Super 12 finalists made winning starts to rugby's expanded Super 14 as the champion Crusaders crushed the Highlanders 38-15 and the Waratahs edged the Reds 16-12 on Saturday.
Meanwhile in South Africa, the Sharks held out Waikato's Chiefs 30-21, and the Stormers easily accounted for the Cats 23-12.
Three days after being named New Zealand's Rugby Player of the Year for an unprecedented second straight year, All Blacks flyhalf Daniel Carter emphasized his value with seven goals from eight attempts for 18 points for the Crusaders.
Former All Blacks captain Reuben Thorne and halfback Kevin Senio scored tries as the Crusaders established a 13-9 halftime lead against the Highlanders, and Rico Gear, leading tryscorer in the Super 12 last season with 15, started the new competition in similar form, with a second-half try. Canterbury's night was topped off with a last-minute intercept try to center Casey Laulala which put his team atop the table on points difference.
The match had an early season feel and both sides lost continuity through handling errors, partly as a result of jarring defense. The Crusaders were better able to keep their shape under pressure and took advantage of critical Highlanders errors to score tries.
"It wasn't pretty out there," captain Richie McCaw said. "It felt a bit stop-start to us but it was good to get a win and we're happy to come away with five points."
Canterbury won five of the 10 Super 12s and look to have the class to win the first Super 14, building its game around brilliant counterattack.
The biggest derby in Australian rugby, between the Reds and Waratahs, had little to recommend it as a classic.
Flanker Rocky Elsom scored the only try of the game, in the 68th minute, to help the Waratahs overturn a 12-6 deficit and take a 13-12 lead. Peter Hewat's penalty in the final minute sealed a win for the match favorite and last season's beaten finalist. The Waratahs had never beaten Queensland in Super 12 competition before last season and this was their first win in Queensland.
"We knew if we stayed in touch we could come up with a try,'" said Waratahs captain Chris Whitaker. His team trailed 12-6 to four Elton Flatley penalties by the 53rd minute but the Reds began to fade as several players were injured or suffered cramps in humid conditions.
The match exploded in skirmishes at the start but for all the energy in close there was little excitement out wide, with just three line breaks in the game.
Former Queensland star Wendell Sailor made his debut for the Waratahs and was the target of some intense jeering from the stands. He had little impact, yet celebrated wildly at the finish, giving plenty of abuse back to some supporters.
Springboks fullback Percy Montgomery scored 25 points from flyhalf for the Sharks, whose season-opening victory over the Chiefs matched their win total last year.
RSS