Owen Farrell will start at fly-half with Marcus Smith dropped in a revamped England midfield to host Italy at Twickenham in the Six Nations on Sunday.
Captain Farrell has switched to 10, with Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade forming an all-new centre pairing.
Smith and Farrell have started at 10-12 for the last eight Test matches, but now new head coach Steve Borthwick has split up the duo.
Lions playmaker Farrell will start in his preferred position for England for the first time since the 2021 Six Nations, with England seeking to atone after last weekend’s 29-23 defeat by Scotland. Toulouse’s Jack Willis starts in place of Ben Curry at openside flanker in the sole change to England’s pack.
“We are at the start of what is a completely new cycle for England,” said Borthwick. “Implementing new systems does take time and the players are showing themselves to be hungry to deliver the sort of performance that we know they are capable of.
“I have selected a team for Sunday’s fixture that I believe is best placed to meet the specific challenges that Italy will bring.”
London Irish speedster Henry Arundell takes a seat on the bench, with the 20-year-old fit again after a foot injury suffered in October.
The Exiles wing has had just 30 minutes of rugby on his comeback, but has been deemed ready for a quick-fire Test return.
England team to face Italy
Starting XV: F Steward; M Malins, H Slade, O Lawrence, O Hassell-Collins; O Farrell, J Van Poortvliet; E Genge, J George, K Sinckler, M Itoje, O Chessum, L Ludlam, J Willis, A Dombrandt.
Replacements: J Walker, M Vunipola, D Cole, N Isiekwe, B Earl, A Mitchell, M Smith, H Arundell.
