Six Nations Preview: England Vs Italy

Two teams looking to get off the mark in 2023 meet in an intriguing Twickenham tussle on Sunday afternoon as England welcome Italy.

The home side’s new era under Steve Borthwick got off to a dramatic start in Round 1, England going down 29-23 against a Duhan van der Merwe-inspired Scotland in a Calcutta Cup classic.

Italy were also on the wrong end of a tight game, beaten 29-24 by reigning champions France in Rome, and now go in search of a first ever victory over England.

The Azzurri were unable to land a glove on England last year, the visitors winning 33-0 in the Stadio Olimpico, but their performance against Les Bleus will give them belief they can enter the history books this weekend.

England have their own point to prove in front of their own fans and will be desperate to ensure a win is on the board by the time they travel to Cardiff in a fortnight.

TEAM NEWS

A midfield reshuffle makes up two of the three changes to England’s side as they look to bounce back from their Round 1 defeat against Scotland.

Ollie Lawrence and the returning Henry Slade form a new-look centre partnership, with Owen Farrell moved to fly-half and Marcus Smith on the bench. Jack Willis replaces Ben Curry in the only change to the pack while Henry Arundell is back among the replacements.

For Italy, Edoardo Padovani comes in on the wing for his first Guinness Six Nations start since scoring the match-winning try against Wales on Super Saturday last year. The Azzurri’s only other change sees Marco Riccioni come in to the front row in place of Simone Ferrari.

STAT ATTACK

- England have won each of their 23 matches against Italy in the Guinness Six Nations and are the only nation the Azzurri are yet to beat since joining the Championship in 2000.

- England have lost each of their last two home games in the Guinness Six Nations. They’ve never lost three in a row at Twickenham in the Championship, while the last time they lost three straight home games in the Five Nations was back in 1971-72.

- Italy won their most recent away game in the Guinness Six Nations, against Wales in Round 5 last year, but have never won consecutive away matches in the Championship.

- Italy had an average ruck speed of 2.99 seconds in Round 1, the best rate of any nation, while England slowed down their opponents rucks more than any other side on average (4.64s)

- Ellis Genge and Lewis Ludlam each made 18 carries in Round 1, the joint-most of any player. Genge’s total was the most by a prop in a Championship match, beating his own record from 2019.