England host Italy at Twickenham this weekend as they look for their first win of this year's Six Nations after a disappointing start against Scotland. Steve Borthwick's first game in charge didn't go to plan as his side were beaten 29-23 in a thrilling Calcutta Cup contest, their third successive loss against Gregor Townsend's side.
Borthwick will be hoping for a response against the Italians, who have never beaten England in their history. The last time the two sides met, it ended 33-0 to this year's hosts, the second time they had nilled the Azzurri in the space of 18 months.
However, they will have their work cut out this time around, after Italy came within minutes of beating reigning Six Nations champions France on the opening weekend only to lose out to a late Matthieu Jalibert try. Kieran Crowley's side may fancy their chances of springing another surprise and finally getting a victory off the back of that convincing performance against Les Bleus and their recent scalps of Wales and Australia.
Here's everything you need to know about Sunday's match:
What time is England v Italy kick-off in Six Nations?
England v Italy kicks off at 3pm on Sunday, February 12, at Twickenham.
What TV channel is England v Italy on? What about live streaming?
England v Italy is being broadcast live on ITV1 with coverage beginning at 2.15pm. You can also live stream the game via ITVX.
What's the England v Italy team news?
Steve Borthwick has made three changes to the starting XV that played in the Calcutta Cup, with Marcus Smith dropped to the bench. Skipper Owen Farrell has been moved to fly-half, with the returning Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence starting in midfield.
The other change sees Jack Willis, who suffered a horrific injury that ruled him out for a year in this fixture in 2021, replace Ben Curry at openside flanker, with Curry dropping out of the squad completely.
Last week’s debutant Ollie Hassell-Collins is on the left wing, with Max Malins on the right and Freddie Steward at full-back, while Jack van Poortvliet remains at scrum-half. In the pack, Ellis Genge, Kyle Sinckler and Jamie George make up the front row, with Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum both starting at lock. Lewis Ludlam is opposite Willis as blindside flanker, while Alex Dombrandt starts at number eight.
Jack Walker could make his England debut having been named on the bench alongside Smith and the returning pair of Henry Arundell and Alex Mitchell, as well as Mako Vunipola, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Ben Earl and Marcus Smith.
The visitors have made two changes of their own, with Edoardo Padovani and Marco Riccioni coming into the starting XV. Padovani replaces Pierre Bruno, who drops to the bench, on the wing, while Riccioni starts at tighthead in place of Simone Ferrari. Jake Polledri is named among the replacements at the expense of Giovanni Pettinelli, while Pietro Ceccarelli is not included in the matchday 23.
England: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Max Malins, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Ollie Lawrence 11. Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10. Owen Farrell (capt), 9. Jack van Poortvliet; 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Lewis Ludlam, 7. Jack Willis, 8. Alex Dombrandt.
Replacements: 16. Jack Walker, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Dan Cole, 19. Nick Isiekwe, 20. Ben Earl, 21. Alex Mitchell, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Henry Arundell.
Italy: 15. Ange Capuozzo; 14. Edoardo Padovani, 13. Juan Ignacio Brex, 12. Luca Morisi, 11. Tommaso Menoncello; 10. Tommaso Allan, 9.Stephen Varney; 1. Danilo Fischetti, 2. Giacomo Nicotera, 3. Marco Riccioni; 4. Niccolo Cannone, 5. Federico Ruzza; 6. Sebastian Negri, 7. Michele Lamaro (capt), 8. Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: 16. Luca Bigi, 17. Federico Zani, 18. Simone Ferrari, 19. Edoardo Iachizzi, 20. Jake Polledri, 21. Manuel Zuliani, 22. Alessandro Fusco, 23. Pierre Bruno.
Who is the England v Italy referee?
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant referees: Mathieu Raynal and Tual Trainini (FFR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
What have the coaches said?
England coach Steve Borthwick: “We welcome an exciting and in form Italy team to Twickenham on Sunday. We recognise and respect the very real threat they pose in this Six Nations Championship and we are preparing accordingly.
“Notwithstanding the disappointment of last weekend’s Calcutta Cup result, we know that in a very short space of time positive steps have been taken towards the manner and style in which we want to play our rugby. We are at the start of what is a completely new cycle of England Rugby. The implementation of new systems does take time and the squad is showing themselves to be hungry to deliver the sort of performance that we know they are capable of.
“From the squad, I have selected a team for Sunday’s fixture that I believe is best placed to meet the specific challenges that Italy will bring. It is a selection of players whose form, individual strengths and combined qualities suit the way we want to play against Italy, in what we anticipate will be another hard-fought and entertaining spectacle.”
Italy coach Kieran Crowley: “We are looking forward to going to Twickenham and playing against an English team who have spent three weeks together with the new staff. In our first game against France, we were inaccurate in the first 20 minutes, and we had moments where we didn’t play the way we wanted to. We have worked hard this week, and we hope that the attention to detail that was missing last week is present for this game.”
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