England lineup with Smith-Farrell axis broken up
The headline team news from an England perspective is Owen Farrell moving back to fly-half from inside centre and Marcus Smith dropped to the bench, finally breaking up their polarising playmaking partnership… for now at least.
Farrell is supported by a new, intriguing midfield pairing of Bath’s Ollie Lawrence and the fit-again Henry Slade, who has shaken off a hip problem.
The third change to the XV that started against Scotland last weekend is at openside flanker, where Toulouse’s Jack Willis has had a full week of training after club commitments and is preferred to Ben Curry, who drops out of the squad altogether.
Alex Mitchell is picked over the vastly experienced Ben Youngs to back up starting scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet and London Irish speedster Henry Arundell takes Anthony Watson’s spot on the bench after recovering from a foot injury.
England XV: Steward; Malins, Slade, Lawrence, Hassell-Collins; Farrell (c), Van Poortvliet; Genge, George, Sinckler; Itoje, Chessum; Ludlam, Willis, Dombrandt.
Replacements: Walker, M Vunipola, Cole, Isiekwe, Earl, Mitchell, M Smith, Arundell.
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 this afternoon.
Live stream: Fans can also catch all the action live online via the ITVX app or ITV website.
Welcome to England vs Italy LIVE coverage!
Good afternoon and welcome to the Evening Standard’s latest LIVE coverage of the 2023 Six Nations!
We’re at Twickenham today as a memorable round two of the competition concludes with a clash between England and Italy.
Steve Borthwick will be desperate to pick up his first win as Eddie Jones’ successor after an agonising, Duhan van der Merwe-inspired Calcutta Cup defeat on opening weekend, though a much-improved Azzurri team pose a far bigger threat than in years past.
Kieran Crowley’s men gave reigning Grand Slam champions France all they could handle seven days ago and came close to an upset in Rome.
They will be hunting further shocks with their all-out attacking game after stunning both Wales and Australia in a memorable 2022 that showcased their clear improvements.
Kick-off today is at 3pm GMT, so stay tuned for all the latest team news, match build-up and live minute-by-minute updates, plus expert analysis from Standard Sport’s rugby correspondent Nick Purewal throughout the afternoon at English rugby HQ.
