England will return to action for the first time since their pep talk at the Rugby World Cup, taking on Italy.
After a year of turmoil leading up to the tournament, Steve Borthwick’s side performed well in France and came close to defeating eventual champions South Africa in the physical semi-final.
The key for Borthwick going forward will be to build on these strong foundations and secure their first Six Nations title since 2020.
Italy have never beaten England, but they had close home games against France and Ireland last year, and should be even more active under new manager Gonzalo Quesada.
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When is Italy vs England?
Italy vs England is scheduled to kick-off at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Saturday 3 January at 2:15pm (GMT).
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the UK can watch the match live on ITV1, broadcast from 1:30pm GMT. You can watch it online through the streaming platform ITVX.
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team news
Italy returned Tommaso Menoncello, who had missed the World Cup due to injury, to midfield, and the center regained his form. Paolo Garbisi will be joined at half by his older brother Alessandro, with Tommaso Allan slotting in at full-back as another playmaking option.
Ange Capozzo was listed on the wing, but withdrew due to illness, giving Lorenzo Pani the chance. New manager Gonzalo Quesada opted to keep six forwards on the bench, including two potential debutants: loosehead prop Mirco Spagnuolo and back-rower Alessandro Isécole.
Steve Borthwick includes Exeter flanker Ethan Roots and Northampton center Fraser Dingwall in his starting XI, with five uncapped players in the first 23 games of this Six Nations. include. George Ford is at fly-half due to injury to Marcus Smith, but Jamie George will captain his country for the first time after being confirmed as Owen Farrell’s successor. Alex Mitchell overcame an injury scare to start at scrum-half.
Harlequins back-rower Chandler Cunningham-South, Northampton fly-half Finn Smith and Exeter winger Immanuel Fay-Waboso will all make their debuts if introduced.
lineup
Italy XV: 1 Danilo Fischetti, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli. 4 Niccolo Cannone, 5 Federico Luzza. 6 Sebastian Negri, 7 Michele Ramaro (captain), 8 Lorenzo Cannone. 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 10 Paolo Garbisi. 11 Monti Ioane, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 14 Lorenzo Pani. 15 Tommaso Alan.
Substitutes: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnuolo, 18 Giosue Girocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Alessandro Izekol, 21 Manuel Zuliani. 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Federico Mori
XV of England: 1 Joe Marler, 2 Jamie George (Captain), 3 Will Stuart. 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Ollie Chetham. 6 Ethan Roots, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Ben Earl. 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 George Ford. 11 Elliot Daly, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 13 Henry Slade, 14 Tommy Freeman. 15 Freddie Steward.
Substitutes: 16 Theo Dunn, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South. 21 Danny Care, 22 Finn Smith, 23 Immanuel Faye-Waboso.
odds
Italy won 6/1
Draw 40/1
England victory 1/10
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prediction
It was a bonus point for England, but an encouraging performance for Italy. Italy 17-35 England.