Hello. Welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of the Six Nations opening match between England and Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
We start with the latest news on the England team from one of our men in Roma, senior rugby writer Charlie Morgan, after Ireland’s emphatic victory over 14-man France in Marseille last night.
“Ellis Genge was ruled out of today’s match against Italy in a late blow for England. The Bristol Bears loosehead appeared to be on the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury, but his foot He will be replaced by Beno Obano, but we will soon know more about the seriousness of Genge’s plight.”
Further injury troubles for Genge, who was in any case doubtful after injuring his hamstring during his time at the club. Obano, Genge’s replacement, will be making his fourth cap off the bench at the Stadio Olimpico, joining Theo Dunn and Dan Cole as England’s front-row substitutes.
I would also like to remind you that there are five uncapped players scheduled to make their England debuts today (and they all happen to be dual eligible): blindside Ethan Roots and inside center; Starting Fraser Dingwall. Chandler Cunningham-South, Finn Smith and Immanuel Fay-Waboso will all earn their first caps if they come off the bench.
Rome is also 17 degrees and sunny, which you would think would be perfect conditions for attacking rugby. England are well into their rush preparations for the World Cup and are promising a more enterprising approach, but don’t expect anything like the Harlem Globetrotters in Rome. The team has only been together for just over a week, but despite dealing with various injuries to the backline, they will be looking for a professional win against an unknown Italian under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada.
The confirmed team lineup is next, with a switch between Genge and Obano.