England to get campaign back on track against Italy

England will be aiming to get their campaign back on track when they host Italy in their Six Nations encounter at Twickenham on Saturday.

After an excellent start, in which they claimed a deserved 32-20 victory over the defending champions, Ireland, in Dublin, England continued with their impressive form when they sealed a convincing 44-8 triumph over France at Twickenham in Round Two.

That set up a mouth-watering encounter with Wales in their next match and although the showdown in Cardiff was evenly poised for long periods, the home side finished stronger and eventually came out on top courtesy of a 21-13 triumph.

Despite that setback England are expected to win this weekend’s Test comfortably and there could be a backlash against Italy, who last won a match in the competition in 2015.

England head coach Eddie Jones has made some changes to his starting line-up but the nucleus of his team remains the same with senior players like captain Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs and Billy Vunipola expected to deliver improved performances after below par efforts against Wales.

Farrell, in particular, will be hoping for his A-game to return as his game management left a lot to be desired in Cardiff.

There’s also plenty of excitement in the English ranks about the midfield partnership of Ben Te’o and Manu Tuilagi and the duo’s physicality should give their side plenty of attacking momentum.

Meanwhile, Italy have been boosted by the return of their talismanic captain and number eight Sergio Parisse, who missed their previous match – a 26-16 defeat to Ireland in Rome.

That loss was the Azzurri’s 20th consecutive one in the tournament but they gave the defending champions a real fright as they were competitive throughout and even held a 16-12 lead at half-time.

Although they are overwhelming underdogs this week, Italy head coach Conor O’Shea believes his team are capable of causing an upset at Twickenham.

“This is an Italy team that’s preparing to win. Everybody thinks we’re delusional. But we’re sports people, we’re competitive people,” he said.

“I’ve said to the players I don’t want them to even think about the result, their job is to deliver a performance of intensity, physicality and ambition.

“I’ll say ambition 20 times because I want them to go out and play. I’ll take the flak for any results.

“The big thing is to get the confidence to win and get the energy that comes with that.

“We have to dust ourselves down every time and come back. This is a massive ask but I can’t wait for this weekend.”

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Players to watch:

For England: One player who will be eager to prove a point is Kyle Sinckler, who despite establishing himself as England’s first-choice tighthead prop over the past 12 months, received criticism due to a lack of composure during the defeat to Wales in Round Three. Sinckler’s emotions seemed to get the better of him at times in that match and although he shone in executing his core duties and made 16 tackles, Jones replaced him before the hour-mark after he conceded two crucial penalties. Wales boss Warren Gatland called the 25-year-old an “emotional time bomb” before that Test and Jones has said he expects Sinckler and fellow front-row Ellis Genge to be targeted by the Italians. Both players will have to keep their emotions in check and not concede unnecessary penalties.

For Italy: If the Azzurri want to run England close then their fly-half, Tommaso Allan will have to deliver the goods. He has been blowing hot and cold so far this year but despite his indifferent form, O’Shea, has kept the faith with him and the Benetton man heads into this encounter as his side’s first-choice number 10 for the fourth successive Test. An area of concern is his goalkicking which has not been reliable and he heads into this game having scored just 16 points – via four penalties and two conversions – from three matches. As the team’s pivot, he is also expected to give direction on attack and his partnership with scrum-half Tito Tebaldi will be crucial. Tebaldi was one of the stars in that loss to Ireland a fortnight ago with his decision making particularly impressive and he will be hoping to continue where he left off in that match this weekend.

Head-to-head: Although both teams might have better players in other crucial positions, the battle out wide between England’s Jonny May and Edoardo Padovani of Italy is an appetising one as both have caught the eye with their brilliant attacking play. May heads into this game as the tournament’s leading try-scorer with four five-pointers while Padovani is in joint second spot – along with England’s Henry Slade and Blair Kinghorn of Scotland – with three tries. Both flyers will be keen to do well with ball in hand and in doing so, cross the whitewash to help their respective teams’ causes.

Previous results:

2018: England won 46-15 in Rome
2017: England won 36-15 in London
2016: England won 40-9 in Rome
2015: England won 47-17 in London
2014: England won 52-11 in Rome
2013: England won 18-11 in London
2012: England won 19-15 in Rome
2011: England won 59-13 in London

Prediction: Although O’Shea’s confidence is admirable, England will have little trouble in seeing off the Azzurri’s challenge. England to win by 30 points.

The teams:

England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Brad Shields, 5 George Kruis, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nathan Hughes, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Dan Robson, 22 George Ford, 23 Henry Slade

Italy: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Angelo Esposito, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Braam Steyn, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Federico Ruzza, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 David Sisi, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Tommaso Castello

Date: Saturday, March 9
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)