Head coach Steve Borthwick names his England team to play Italy in the 2023 Six Nations at Twickenham this Sunday.
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England will take on Italy in this weekend’s Six Nations fixture after losing the Calcutta Cup to Scotland last weekend.
Captain Owen Farrell moves to fly half and Jack van Poortvliet remains at scrum half. Last week’s debutant Ollie Hassell-Collins is on the left wing, Max Malins is on the right and Freddie Steward is full back.
In the only change to the pack, Jack Willis comes in at openside flanker, as Lewis Ludlam (blindside) and Alex Dombrandt (No. 8) retain their places.
Jack Walker could get the chance to make his England debut after being named as a replacement. There are also returns for Henry Arundell and Alex Mitchell. Mako Vunipola, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Ben Earl and Marcus Smith make up the remaining replacements.
Scroll down for the full England team to play Italy:
Steve Borthwick said:
“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.”
England vs Italy date, kick-off time and stadium
England vs Italy brings a close to the second weekend of Six Nations action, after Ireland vs France and Scotland vs Wales on Saturday.
The match is due to begin at 3pm GMT on Sunday February 12, taking place at Twickenham Stadium in south-west London.
How to watch England vs Italy
TV channel: England vs Italy is being broadcast live and free-to-air on ITV1 in the UK, with coverage beginning at 2.15pm.
England team to play Italy:
15. Freddie Steward
14. Max Malins
13. Henry Slade
12. Ollie Lawrence
11. Ollie Hassell-Collins
10. Owen Farrell (C)
9. Jack van Poortvliet
1. Ellis Genge (VC)
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 team to play England:
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