England will be eyeing a dominant win over Italy this afternoon to take their Six Nations title hopes into the final weekend. France’s statement victory over Ireland yesterday means England have the chance to move up to second in the standings and a point behind Les Blues, but a bonus-point win is required.
Steve Borthwick’s side are at Twickenham for the third match in a row and it has been far from comfortable in recent weeks, with victories over France and Scotland coming by just a single point. Borthwick has made three changes to his starting XV, with Marcus Smith dropping out of the side and Jamie George bringing up a century of international caps.
Italy were hammered 73-24 by France in their last match, immediately ending any momentum they had after victory over Wales. England have won all 31 Test matches they have ever played against Italy, and it would be a huge shock if that streak came to an end here. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from George Flood at Twickenham!
England vs Italy latest news
Italy team news
12:53
Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada has made six changes to the team thumped by France, with Monty Ioane returning from injury on one wing and former England Under-20 international Matt Gallagher - son of New Zealand’s 1987 World Cup winner John Gallagher - on the other as he makes his Six Nations debut.
Ange Capuozzo switches to full-back as Tommaso Allan drops to the bench and Simone Gesi from the squad altogether.
Stephen Varney replaces Martin Page-Relo at scrum-half, while in the pack Giacomo Nicotera is back in at hooker for Gianmarco Lucchesi and Marco Riccioni replaces Simone Ferrari at tighthead prop.
The other change is in the back row, where Ross Vintcent is preferred to Lorenzo Cannone at No8. Jacopo Trulla drops out of the squad along with Alessandro Garbisi.
England team news
12:46 , Matt Verri
Despite needing some greater attacking ingenuity for this game, Steve Borthwick has dropped Marcus Smith to the bench with the experienced Elliot Daly - who scored the last-gasp winning try as a replacement against France in round two - in at full-back with Fin Smith now with a firm grip on that starting fly-half shirt.
England’s only other change from the 16-15 win over Scotland is in the centres, where the established Henry Slade-Ollie Lawrence partnership is broken up as the former makes way for Fraser Dingwall.
That means that five of the starting backline are team-mates from Northampton Saints, and it would surely be six if George Furbank weren’t currently out injured.
The pack is unchanged, with former captain Jamie George set to earn his 100th Test cap at hooker, while Tom Curry and Tom Willis have both proven their fitness to start in the back row.
It’s a 6-2 bench split again from Borthwick, but with Jack van Poortvliet replacing Harry Randall as scrum-half cover.
How to watch England vs Italy
12:39 , Matt Verri
TV channel: England vs Italy is being broadcast live and free-to-air in the UK on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 2:15pm GMT.
Live stream: ITVX will also be providing a free live stream service online, with only a registration needed.
Live blog: Follow the game right here with us, featuring expert analysis from George Flood at the ground.
Good afternoon!
12:33 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of England vs Italy!
Nothing but a bonus-point win will do for England this afternoon, as they look to take their Six Nations title ambitions into the final weekend.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 3pm GMT from Twickenham!
