Preview: Italy v England

A loss to Wales and it would all have been doom and gloom in England. But two points are on the board and now it's time for Italy.

Lose against Wales and it would all have been doom and gloom in the English press ahead of facing Italy. But two points are on the board and that is set to become four on Sunday.

Being fair to the Welsh, however, the Twickenham contest was arguably heading their way at 20-17 to a home side very much on the back foot. But the rest is history as they say and both outfits cannot savour nor dwell, as the case may be, with Round Two already on their respective doorsteps.

So what of England at the Stadio Flaminio? Well, that opening success has certainly given them every chance of challenging for 2010 honours. And they are now in Italy for what many view will be the easiest of their five assignments.

The big question regarding this crop that Martin Johnson has at his disposal though is whether they have the mettle and tools to go all the way or is this just another one of those false dawns that their fans have become so accustomed to over the past eight years? Roll on Round Three against Ireland.

But not to be accused of being a pessimist following last week's victory, England did show glimpses of sturdiness – through the likes of Nick Easter and Steve Borthwick – and an ability to strike when given a chance – Danny Care and Mathew Tait took care of that.

Johnson has decided not to rock the boat for the first trip off shore and only makes one change from his original XV that he has planned to start with against Wales. In comes Leicester prop Dan Cole for his starting debut while centre Riki Flutey has managed to shake off the dead leg that forced him to pull out last Friday.

No one really underperformed six days ago but surely this weekend would have been the perfect opportunity to blood a more than ready Ben Foden ahead of Delon Armitage. One of the standout performers in the Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup this season so far alongside Saints team-mate Chris Ashton, Foden must once again settle for the bench.

If he does emerge at some point in Rome, the former Sale man might find some joy in attack against a side that are expected to be tiring from a tough day at the office.

Last week's showing, while going some way to limit Ireland, was hardly inspiring from the Italians in terms of playing positive rugby. It was also quite disappointing that the Azzurri, who ended a thirteen-match losing streak against Samoa in the autumn, played such a constricted game in Dublin so more is expected from them on home soil.

But with a proud coach giving this response: “I've never said we came here to get a result. At 23-8 at half-time there was a real possibility we could have leaked another two or three tries in the second-half with all the ball Ireland had. The fact we didn't and that we showed some fantastic defence and scored six more points makes me very proud,” smacks of the Italians biding their time for a probable Wooden Spoon decider against Scotland.

Good for England then..so will it be the last of those false dawns or the continuation of Six Nations momentum heading into their hosting of Ireland next weekend?

Ones to watch:

For Italy: The loss of Carlo Del Fava is quite a void that needs filling. His sizeable presence alongside Quintin Geldenhuys made sure not to give Paul O'Connell and Leo Cullen an easy ride but injury has sidelined the lock. In comes Gloucester's Marco Bortolami, who has not been the player he was for a good few years now. Once an international captain, the lock has looked low on confidence and missing some bite that he can address in Rome.

For England: Riki Flutey is back for England and while Toby Flood helped give them another kicking option, the New Zealand-born centre will suit the game-plan required to see off Italy on Sunday. One remembers Flood over-kicking in Rome a few years back – that upset Brian Moore immensely – and that is not what's needed when playing in front of the Stadio Flaminio. Flutey will give a more direct and dynamic approach outside Jonny Wilkinson and I expect him to give Mathew Tait more opportunities to run.

Head-to-head: The breakdown is likely to be where this one is won and lost as if England can recycle and/or turnover possession quickly, they have the back-line to hurt the Azzurri. Therefore the battle at openside between Mauro Bergamasco, who was busy last week in open play, and Lewis Moody promises to be all-action from Christophe Berdos' first whistle.

Previous results:
2009: England won 36-11 at Twickenham
2008: England won 23-19 in Rome
2007: England won 20-7 at Twickenham
2006: England won 31-16 in Rome
2005: England won 39-7 at Twickenham
2004: England won 50-9 in Rome
2003: England won 40-5 at Twickenham
2002: England won 45-9 in Rome
2001: England won 80-23 at Twickenham
2000: England won 59-12 in Rome

Prediction: I expect it to be close for the early stages but England should keep up at around the 20-point margin to claim successive wins!

The teams:

Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Masi, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (capt), 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Valerio Bernabo, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Kaine Robertson.

England: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick (capt), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Dan Cole , 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Matthew Mullan, 19 Louis Deacon, 20 Steffon Armitage, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Toby Flood.

Date: Sunday, February 14
Kick-off: 15:30 (14:30 GMT)
Venue: Stadio Flaminio
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official: Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Assessor: Dave Herbert (Wales)

By Adam Kyriacou