The first game in charge for newly appointed England coach Steve Borthwick’s ended in a shock 29-23 loss to Scotland to concede the Calcutta Cup once again, putting intense amounts of pressure on this England squad than what is usually experienced when taking on Italy.
Said pressure will be exacerbated given Italy’s performance last week, where despite falling to a 29-24 defeat to Grand Slam holders France, they’ve been praised for their valiant and brave performance as they pushed France all the way and even led the match with 18 minutes to play.
A lacklustre season in 2022 saw the English eventually finish with only five wins from their 13 matches (D1, L7), ending the seven-year tenure of Eddie Jones as their coach.
Their defence was often called into question last year, a problem that persisted last week against Scotland, as only against Japan have England managed to restrict their opponents to fewer than 25 points in their last five tests.
Much optimism surrounded Borthwick’s appointment and he indicated his intent by ringing the changes both within his backroom staff and on the pitch since taking over at the helm, but some of the usual questions regarding England’s preparations for the Rugby World Cup (RWC) later in the year still persist.
One of the major questions surrounds the pairing of Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell and fly half and inside centre respectfully, something Borthwick has duly answered by dropping Smith to the bench for this clash and moving captain Farrell back to his preferred position at number ten.
That means a new centre pairing will take the field with Henry Slade coming in at outside centre while Ollie Lawrence fills the vacancy at 12. The only change to the pack sees Jack Willis come in at openside flanker at the expense of Ben Curry, while replacement hooker Jack Walker could get the chance to make his England debut after being named on the bench.
Italian fans will feel their side’s needs to marry their ambition and passion with a higher level of accuracy in order for the Azzurri to consistently challenge their Tier 1 counterparts, something they nearly pulled off last week in what would’ve been one of the Six Nations’ greatest upsets.
While the perennial wooden-spooners will take great confidence from their recent performances, last year’s SNC Round Two fixture might still be lingering in their mind, as their latest attempt to secure a first-ever win over England ended in a hefty 33-0 defeat, extending their winless run against their hosts to 29 matches.
Coach Kieran Cowley has largely rewarded the heroics of last week’s team, making only two changes to his starting XV that sees Edoardo Padovani replace Pierre Bruno on the wing and Marco Riccioni come in at tighthead prop ahead of Simone Ferrari, with both players making their way to the bench.
The only other change to the matchday 23 sees Giovanni Pettinelli drop out and Jake Polledri take his place, potentially making his first international appearance since a horrific knee injury in 2020.
Players to watch: England winger Max Malins proved his worth by scoring not only his first international try last week, but doubling up and bagging a brace leaving him full of confidence he can cross the white wash once again. For the visitors, Italian full-back and World Rugby’s men’s ‘Breakthrough Player of the Year’ in 2022, Ange Capuozzo, is well deserving of that title, having now scored four tries in his last three tests against France, South Africa, and Australia.
Hot stat: The second half has been the highest-scoring half in seven of England’s last nine tests.