Six Nations: England make six changes for Italy clash

By Sports Desk February 11, 2022

England have made six changes to their starting line-up for Sunday's Six Nations clash with Italy in Rome.

Joe Marchant moves to outside centre, while Ben Youngs, who is one cap away from equalling Jason Leonard's national record of 114, has been dropped for Harry Randall at scrum-half.

Jack Nowell is on the wing ahead of Elliot Daly for his first England start in 1,065 days, while Alex Dombrandt comes in at eight and Charlie Ewels starts as lock alongside Nick Isiekwe.

Will Stuart and Jamie George start in the front row, the latter replacing Luke Cowan-Dickie, who drops to the bench after a costly mistake in the defeat to Scotland last week.

"We've set ourselves the target of playing really well and lighting up Rome," said coach Eddie Jones. "We've made some changes and this is the best side to face Italy. We want to start fast and take the game to them.

"It's been a difficult week, but the players have bounced back well, trained hard and are ready to put on a good performance on Sunday."

Kieran Crowley makes three changes to the Italy side that lost 37-10 to France.

Federico Mori is in at 14 for Tommaso Menoncello, with Braam Steyn replacing Sebastian Negri at flanker and Pietro Ceccarelli starting in the front row ahead of Tiziano Pasquali.

England are the only side yet to lose to Italy in the Six Nations, having won all of their previous 22 meetings.

The Azzurri are on a championship-record 33-match losing streak and have not won at home since beating Ireland 22-15 at the Stadio Olimpico in 2013.

However, Jones' men are at risk of losing their opening two rounds of the same Six Nations competition since 2005, when they were beaten by Wales and France.


England team: Freddie Steward, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Henry Slade, Jack Nowell, Marcus Smith, Harry Randall; Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Will Stuart, Charlie Ewels, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Alex Dombrandt, Tom Curry. 

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, Ollie Chessum, Sam Simmonds, Ben Youngs, George Ford, Elliot Daly.

Italy team: Edoardo Padovani, Federico Mori, Juan Ignacio Brex, Marco Zanon, Montanna Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Stephen Varney; Danilo Fischetti, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Pietro Ceccarelli, Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Braam Steyn, Michele Lamaro, Toa Halafihi.

Replacements: Epalahame Faiva, Cherif Traore, Tiziano Pasquali, David Sisi, Sebastian Negri, Giovanni Pettinelli, Alessandro Fusco, Leonardo Marin.

Related items

  • Stokes out of first Pakistan Test through injury Stokes out of first Pakistan Test through injury

    England captain Ben Stokes is out of their first Test against Pakistan having failed to recover from a hamstring tear in time.

    Stokes suffered the hamstring injury in August playing in The Hundred and has not played since, missing England's three-match series against Sri Lanka last month.

    England said last week that the 33-year-old was "on track" to participate in the tour and trained away from the rest of the team in their first session.

    Stokes confirmed he will miss the first Test, which begins on Monday in Multan, and Ollie Pope will continue to deputise as captain in his absence.

    "I tried my hardest to get myself fit for this game but have taken the call to miss this one because I've not quite managed to get game-ready," Stokes told BBC Sport.

    "There is a lot that has to go into my rehab programme. We got to a certain point, but looking at the picture of what we've got coming up and physically where I'm at, I'm not quite ready to play.

    "It's always frustrating to miss out. I've got some good things to focus on, so even though I'm not playing, I've got a goal in mind."

    The second Test starts on October 15, but the all-rounder admitted he was not sure whether that was a realistic target for his return.

    "I've pushed myself incredibly hard and worked really hard with the medical team to get to where I'm at now. I think I'm further ahead than what we expected," he added.

    "I'll be working just as hard over the next 10 days to try to get myself fit for the second Test."

    In his absence, Durham seamer Brydon Carse will make his England Test debut.

    He has previously played 19 ODIs and four T20s for England and will make his red-ball bow just over a month after completing a three-month ban for historical gambling offences.

    England XI for first Test against Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Bryson Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

  • Gabbia, Pisilli and Maldini named in Italy's Nations League squad Gabbia, Pisilli and Maldini named in Italy's Nations League squad

    Luciano Spalletti has handed four players their senior call-up to the Italy national team ahead of their Nations League fixtures next week. 

    Italy take on Belgium and Israel in the next round of games, hoping to build on their impressive start in Group A2 after winning their opening two games which included a 3-1 win over France.

    Milan defender Matteo Gabbia has been included after an impressive run of performances at centre-back under new head coach Paulo Fonseca.

    Gabbia is also the first player from the Rossoneri to be named in the Italy squad in almost 600 days, with Sandro Tonali, who joined Newcastle in 2023, the last Milan representative to feature for the Azzurri. 

    There was also a place in the squad for Monza's Daniel Maldini, who could follow in the footsteps of his father Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains.

    Maldini has one goal and one assist in seven appearances in all competitions this season, and comes in for Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni.

    Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio has also been given a first call-up to the senior side, replacing the injured Alex Meret of Napoli. 

    Roma's Niccolo Pisilli was also named in the squad, replacing Atlanta's Marco Brescianini, who has also suffered a recent injury set-back.

    There were five Premier League representatives named in Spalletti's 23-man squad on Friday, with Guglielmo Vicario, Riccardo Calafiori, Caleb Okoli, Destiny Udogie and Tonali also included. 

    However, there was no space for Liverpool's Federico Chiesa, who did not feature in the Reds' Champions League win over Bologna in midweek. 

    Italy squad: Michele Di Gregorio (Juventus), Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG), Guglielmo Vicario (Spurs), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Atalanta), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Matteo Gabbia (Milan), Caleb Okoli (Leicester), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Niccolo Pisilli (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Daniel Maldini (Monza), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta). 

  • Stokes a doubt for England's series opener against Pakistan Stokes a doubt for England's series opener against Pakistan

    Ben Stokes is a doubt for England's three-match series in Pakistan, with Zak Crawley admitting they do not know if he will be fit to feature.

    Stokes tore his hamstring playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred competition, forcing him to miss the side's last three matches against Sri Lanka, with England winning the series 2-1.

    At the end of September, the captain underwent a planned scan which showed he was “on track” to feature in the series, although he was not expected to bowl at the start.

    Stokes had been hoping to make his return in the series opener on Monday, but looked uncomfortable in England's first training session, and is yet to be given the green light.

    "I think he's got to do a few more tests, but he's been doing some running and stuff," Crawley said.

    "He seems to be going well, recovering well from his injury, [but] we don't know just yet. We feel ready, whatever team comes out, it will be a nice balance either way.

    "We've got a really deep squad with plenty of options with the ball and with the bat as well."

    If Stokes is available to play, they could have some selection headaches, as they would be forced to drop one of the top six batters with his inclusion to make way for an extra bowler.

    If they do not drop a batter, they could rely on Joe Root, who could also make history as he has 12,402 runs for England in men's tests and is just 71 away from surpassing Alastair Cook (12,472) as the all-time leading run-scorer.

    Crawley, meanwhile, has been cleared to feature after recovering from a broken finger that kept him out against Sri Lanka. 

    "I feel brand new. I'm looking forward to getting out there," Crawley added.

    "I couldn't pick up a bat for five weeks. I've certainly missed it, so I can't wait to get out there again with the boys.

    "It was a nasty break at the time, but I've recovered well, and I don't feel it at all while I'm batting.

    "I won't go at slip, just from advice from the doctor, but I feel like I could. I'm trying to rest it, but I did a few catches, and it feels fine. I'm just trying to follow the professional advice."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.