England reveal team to face Italy in Six Nations clash – announcement LIVE

Follow live updates as Steve Borthwick names his England team to face Italy in the second round of the Six Nations. England are looking to bounce back from their opening defeat against Scotland at Twickenham, and will return there to face an Italy side who pushed defending champions France in their opening fixture in Rome last weekend.

Borthwick has already made some big calls ahead of his second team selection as England boss, with Ben Youngs, Ben Curry and Anthony Watson dropped from the 29-player training squad named on Wednesday. Manu Tuilagi was the big omission from the opening weekend, with Joe Marchant selected. Borthwick will also have to decide whether to stick with the Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith partnership.

Henry Arundell and Jack Willis could benefit from the absence of Watson and Curry, as Borthwick looks to shuffle the pack and get England firing. Follow all the latest Six Nations news as the England coach names his team to face Italy at 3pm today.

England Six Nations team announcement for Italy

• England take on Italy at Twickenham on Sunday

• Steve Borthwick’s side lost opening Six Nations match to Scotland

• Valiant Italy scared France but couldn’t get over the line in their first outing

New era, same issues for England as Scotland show road ahead

13:47 , Michael Jones

Gregor Townsend savoured the moment. In the week ahead of Scotland’s Six Nations opener, their head coach had planted an asterisk against his side’s 2021 behind-closed-doors win – victory in front of a full Twickenham crowd would be another matter entirely.

There is no need for a caveat now. Come the cool of the February evening it was Scottish lips taking sweet sips from the Calcutta Cup for a third year in succession, the home of English rugby conquered again.

There was plenty of pain during Townsend’s playing days against England: 10 games, nine defeats to the auld enemy. Not since the curtailed Five Nations of 1972 had Scotland won three on the spin against England. But Townsend has forged a squad of history-makers, and as the former fly-half surveyed the landscape of a rivalry transformed under his rule, it was clear just how much it meant.

New era, same issues for England as Scotland show road ahead

Youngs may yet be recalled

13:40 , Michael Jones

Ben Youngs is set to miss out on a spot in England’s team for Sunday’s game and when asked to explain Youngs’ omission, defence coach Kevin Sinfield said it was a selection only with Italy in mind and that Youngs could be recalled down the line.

“Our view on selection is probably different to you guys,” he said. “Just because a player has left camp to go home doesn’t mean they’ve been discarded. They’re a massive part of what we’re trying to do and they’ve been outstanding.

“We’ve picked a side based on the opposition and one that we think will give us the best chance of winning.

“The change from last week has not been performance related, it’s to do with the threat that Italy pose and the way we want to play.”

When is England vs Italy?

13:32 , Michael Jones

England vs Italy is due to kick off at 3pm GMT on Sunday 12 February at Twickenham Stadium.

The match is due to be shown live on ITV1, with coverage from 2.15pm GMT. Registered users can stream the game via ITVX.

Steve Borthwick was right – England weren’t good at anything, admits Eddie Jones

13:26 , Michael Jones

Eddie Jones admits that Steve Borthwick was “probably right” when stating he had inherited an England team that “weren’t good at anything”.

Borthwick, who took over from Jones as head coach in December, offered the damning assessment following last Saturday’s 29-23 Six Nations defeat by Scotland at Twickenham.

Jones was sacked after presiding over a dire 2022 and, having now taken charge of Australia, he accepts his attempts to enhance England’s attack created problems.

“Well he’s probably right and that’s part of the problem,” Jones told the podcast EDDIE. “We were trying to morph a team that had had a very good set-piece and very good kicking game.”

Steve Borthwick was right – England weren’t good at anything, admits Eddie Jones

What is the team news?

13:19 , Michael Jones

Steve Borthwick is thought to be mulling changes to his England side after a disappointing start to his tenure as head coach. The return of Henry Slade after injury could lead to a different midfield combination, with Owen Farrell perhaps shifting to fly half with Ollie Lawrence and Slade outside him. Henry Arundell is another returnee from injury and is already pushing for a back-three opportunity, which may come from the bench.

The France-based Jack Willis is likelier to feature this week after missing out last, while Alex Mitchell is in line for a second cap with Ben Youngs, England’s most capped male player, not included.

Italy were without first-choice fly half Paolo Garbisi for their Six Nations opener, and it may be that this game also comes too soon for the playmaker. Tommaso Allan is therefore set to continue at fly half, and after a positive start to the tournament, major changes would appear unlikely.

Kieran Crowley could bring Saracens prop Marco Riccioni into his starting side at tighthead, while the New Zealander may also consider starting Edoardo Padovani in the back three - his experience and aerial acumen may be valuable.

Borthwick’s 29-man squad

13:12 , Michael Jones

Here’s the pool from which Borthwick will be selecting his team and bench today:

Forwards: Ollie Chessum (Leicester), Dan Cole (Leicester), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Tom Dunn (Bath), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol), Jamie George (Saracens) Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton), David Ribbans (Northampton), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Jack Walker (Harlequins), Jack Willis (Toulouse).

Backs: Henry Arundell (London Irish), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Max Malins (Saracens), Joe Marchant (Harlequins), Alex Mitchell (Northampton), Henry Slade (Exeter), Fin Smith (Northampton), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Freddie Steward (Leicester), Manu Tuilagi (Sale), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester).

Borthwick to drop Smith

13:08 , Michael Jones

The Telegraph are reporting a story by Gavin Mairs that Steve Borthwick is set to drop Marcus Smith for match against Italy with captain Owen Farrell to be handed the fly-half position.

Borthwick is expected to make a number of changes after the defeat to Scotland and the Harlequins No 10 is set to lose his starting spot.

The Smith-Farrell axis that began under Eddie Jones failed to yield positive results again last Saturday despite brief flashes of promise.

England’s midfield is expected to contain Ollie Lawrence and the fit-again Henry Slade whilst Jack Willis is set to assume the openside flanker position, replacing Ben Curry who failed to make a significant impact in his first Test start.

Ben Youngs, England’s most capped scrum-half, was left out of England’s 29-man squad for Sunday after a lacklustre appearance against Scotland. Jack van Poortvliet and Alex Mitchell will share the scrum-half duties in his absence.

England’s Six Nations team announcement for Italy

13:00 , Michael Jones

Steve Borthwick is set to announcement his team squad for England’s next Six Nations match against Italy Scotland on Sunday.

The announcement set for 3pm this afternoon and there may be some changes to the 23-man squad that lost the opening fixture to Scotland last weekend.

The Telegraph are reporting that Marcus Smith will be dropped with captain Owen Farrell to be given the fly-half position.

Borthwick’s team really need to defeat Italy to have any hopes of winning the Six Nations but their opponents impressed in a defeat to France during their first outing.

Can England bounce back?