England v Italy: Six Nations preview as Steve Borthwick’s side set to bounce back with victory over the Azzurri at Twickenham

Jared Wright
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England v Italy: Six Nations preview as Steve Borthwick's side set to bounce back with a victory over the Azzurri at Twickenham

England go in search of their first victory under Steve Borthwick when they host Italy at Twickenham in round two of the Six Nations.

The Red Rose suffered a 29-23 opening-day defeat to Scotland, their third straight loss to the Auld Enemy, with Duhan van der Merwe settling the match with a late try.

Borthwick’s charges will therefore be desperate for a win and avoid losing to Italy for the first time in their history.

The Azzurri look to be a different beast this year, if their opening game against France is anything to go by, as they pushed the defending champions all the way in round one, with Les Bleus emerging 29-24 victors.

There is certainly a feeling of deja vu for both teams heading into the weekend, with apparent similarities to last year. England also suffered an opening-day defeat to Scotland, going down 20-17 at Murrayfield, while Italy put up a strong opening 40-minute fight against France to trail 18-10 at half-time before being blown away in the second to lose 37-10.

Sunday’s clash will be the 30th official Test match between the two nations, with the visitors yet to register a win over the Red Rose and the average scoreline being 40-12 in England’s favour.

Where the game will be won

While England’s playmaking axis of Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell came under fire after the defeat to Scotland, that wasn’t their biggest concern.

Instead, one of Borthwick’s biggest work-ons this week will have been England’s kick chase, with both of Van der Merwe’s scores a result of poor chasing lines and their inability to apply pressure on the opposition when kicking. Van der Merwe’s first try is an excellent example of that, but there were several instances throughout the match.

England can ill-afford to provide Italy’s back three with the same kind of space to launch attacks from kicks, particularly with the likes of Ange Capouzzo and Pierre Bruno in the backfield.

The kicking game of both sides will undoubtedly play a part in the fixture, with Tommy Allan also criticised for not getting enough distance on his touch kicks in the latter stages of the loss to France.

The Italian scrum also put in a big shift against France’s powerful pack in round one. While England’s scrum improved immensely on last November’s performances, it will be a battleground where both sides will fancy their chances.

Last time they met

What they said

England head coach Borthwick spoke at length this week about the work that is needed to get his side back on track. The 43-year-old highlighted several areas of the game that the side fell short in during the Autumn Nations Series and admitted that there are no quick fixes.

“When I looked at the team in the autumn, when I measured the team and got all the data for the team, we weren’t good at anything. It was as frank as that,” he said.

“So we are trying to build some strengths in this team and some bits we are pleased about and some bits we are disappointed about. My job is to make sure we get some improvements for Italy.

“There are multiple areas we have tried to change. You saw some improvement in the scrum against Scotland, which I was pleased about because it has been ranked as the worst scrum in tier-one rugby.

“We saw improvement against Scotland in a lot of areas. Some areas didn’t go so well, and we need to make sure we get those addressed. Some take longer than others.”

After a narrow loss to France and their shock wins last year over Wales and Australia, prop Simone Ferrari says that England won’t underestimate the Azzurri and that the squad is preparing for each match as if it were a final.

“We have to stay humble and climb this mountain one step at a time, but we’re preparing every game like a final, and we’re showing we can play it, even if it won’t be easy,” he said.

“Also, a team could underestimate us before, but now there is no longer any surprise effect. They will work knowing that we can put them in a difficult situation, and they will not underestimate us. Then they come off a home defeat to Scotland and will be looking to redeem themselves.”

Players to watch

The changes to the England backline will excite Bath fans, with Ollie Lawrence earning at start at inside centre. Since arriving from Worcester, Lawrence has been in inspired form and thoroughly deserves another crack in the white jersey. He got four minutes off the bench in the loss to Scotland last week but has the chance to stamp his mark on the starting jersey this week. His powerful ball carries and explosive pace adds a fresh dynamic to the England backline and one that could have the attack firing on all cylinders on Sunday.

Owen Farrell shifts into his favoured position this week, taking charge of the backline at fly-half. The England captain starts in the number 10 jersey for the first time since the February 2021 loss to Scotland in the Six Nations and just the fifth time since the 2019 Rugby World Cup. This despite the veteran starring in the central role for Saracens, particularly this season in the Premiership.

Borthwick has added some serious pace to his bench, with Henry Arundell injected into the matchday 23 after recovering from his latest injury setback. The lightning-quick outside back made a memorable debut off the bench against Australia last July and will undoubtedly bring that energy in the latter stages of the match. He will be a handful whether he comes on at full-back or the wing. The 20-year-old has played just six Premiership matches for London Irish this season but has already racked up three tries and four assists.

It’s hard not to salivate over Ange Capouzzo after his meteoric rise in Test rugby. Just 12 months ago, many were wondering who this young full-back was that Toulouse wanted to sign and was on Italy’s bench. But now he is possibly the most well-known Azzurri player in the world. He has just gotten better and better since his Test debut double against Scotland last year and is bound to cause England a few headaches in his first game against the Red Rose. He was up to his usual tricks against France last week, slipping through the Shaun Edwards’ drilled defence to open his try-scoring account for 2023 and gained over 90 metres, beating three defenders. We will certainly keep a close eye on the brilliant back, but if England take their eye off him for a second, they will regret it.

Kieran Crowley’s pack got a 126kg boost with the return of dynamite tighthead prop Marco Riccioni catapulting into the starting line-up. The all-action prop earns his 18th Test cap on Sunday and first since November 2021. An uncompromising scrummager, Riccioni is a workaholic around the pitch and adds power, weight and solidity to the pack. You will want the popcorn ready and waiting for his head-to-head with England’s Ellis Genge.

The return of Jake Polledri is a massive boost to Italy’s goal of winning two Six Nations matches this year, with the box office back-rower packing a powerful punch from the bench. The 27-year-old has had his struggles with injuries and hasn’t quite hit the top of his game just yet but expect him to have a good crack at England in the final half-hour of action. Between 2019 and 2020, he was arguably Italy’s best player and will aim to hit the ground sprinting on his return to Test rugby; good luck to anyone in his path.

Main head-to-head

There are so many quality head-to-heads to keep an eye out for this weekend, including the battle of the London pivots pitting Harlequins’ Allan against Saracens’ Farrell, the heavyweight clash between Genge and Riccioni and the young full-back duel between Freddie Steward and Capouzzo.

However, the main event has to be the back-row battle between England’s Jack Willis and the Italian captain Michele Lamaro.

Willis missed the opening Six Nations clash against Scotland but featured for Toulouse in the Top 14 last weekend, putting in a mammoth shift against Bayonne, scoring a try in the 21-16 victory. He also topped the metres carried tally for Toulouse, gaining 62 from his 14 carries and won a turnover. He is the first player since Tom Palmer, who played for Stade Francais, to represent England in a Six Nations match while plying his trade in France.

While he impressed with the ball in hand last weekend, his biggest asset is his ability to win turnovers, and with Italy thriving with quick attacking ball against France last week, Willis will be key to thwarting their attack.

It will be a tough task for Willis tough as 68.4 per cent of Italy’s rucks were under three seconds, and they forced France into several errors, with Les Bleus conceding 18 penalties in total, the most in round one.

Meanwhile, Lamaro will have an equally important role for the Azzurri as they attempt to counter England’s possession and territory game. Against Scotland, Borthwick’s side dominated possession (57%) and territory (71%). They ended up on the wrong end of the result, but if cracks in the Italian defence start to show, they will begin to turn those stats into points.

The Azzurri skipper will be tasked with limiting Willis’ impact on their breakdown, a job is more than capable of doing after making over 20 attacking ruck entries, securing possession each time, against France.

Prediction

England will be favourites heading into the fixture, but that hasn’t worried Italy in recent times claiming two major upsets in 2022, Wales and Australia, and almost grabbed another against France last week. While a first-ever win over England in the Six Nations is possible, Borthwick’s charges will be just as determined to deliver a maiden victory for their new boss. England have been slow starters in recent Six Nations campaigns, and we expect them to bounce back this weekend, as they did last year, and produce a winning performance, even if it is not too convincing. The Azzurri are bound to put up a strong fight, but in the end, the Red Rose should have too much quality and depth as we see more of Borthwick’s alterations executed. England by 10 points.

Previous results

2022: England won 33-0 in Rome
2021: England won 41-18 at Twickenham
2020: England won 34-5 in Rome
2019: England won 37-0 in Newcastle
2019: England won 57-14 at Twickenham
2018: England won 46-15 in Rome
2017: England won 36-15 at Twickenham
2016: England won 40-9 in Rome

The teams

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Max Malins, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Henry Arundell 

Italy: 15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Tommaso Menoncello, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo’ Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giamoco Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Edoardo Iachizzi, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Alessandro Fusco, 23 Pierre Bruno

Date: Sunday, February 12
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 15:00 local 
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (FFR), Tual Trainini (FFR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)

READ MORE: Ireland v France: Six Nations preview as Andy Farrell’s men set to beat France and open path towards a fourth Grand Slam

England Owen Farrell