Eddie Jones makes six changes for England clash against Italy
Eddie Jones makes six changes from England side that lost to Scotland in Six Nations opener as rookie Harry Randall comes in at scrum-half for Italy clash and Luke Cowan-Dickie is benched after costly Murrayfield error
- England face Italy in their second Six Nations clash at Twickenham on Sunday
- Eddie Jones has made six changes from the side that lost to Scotland last week
- Harry Randall has been given the nod at No 9, while Jack Nowell is also back in
- In the pack, Jamie George, Will Stuart, Alex Dombrandt and Charlie Ewels are in
Rookie scrum-half Harry Randall will make his first Six Nations start after England rung the changes for Sunday’s Test in Italy.
Randall has taken over the No 9 jersey from Ben Youngs, while winger Jack Nowell has replaced Elliot Daly in a re-jigged backline.
Eddie Jones has also shuffled his pack, with Jamie George and Will Stuart drafted into the front row, in place of Luke Cowan Dickie and Kyle Sinckler.
Eddie Jones has named his squad to face Italy at Twickenham on Sunday in the Six Nations
Harry Randall is at scrum-half in what will be his first start for England in the Six Nations
Alex Dombrandt has displaced Sam Simmonds at No 8, joining Maro Itoje and Tom Curry in the back-row.
With Lewis Ludlam injured, Itoje has been shifted to flanker, with Charlie Ewels starting at lock alongside Nick Isiekwe.
Head coach Jones said: ‘We’ve set ourselves the target of playing really well and lighting up Rome.
‘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.
Marcus Smith retains his spot at fly-half after impressing against Scotland at Murrayfield
Luke Cowan-Dickie drops to the bench after his match-defining error at Murrayfield last week
‘They can be a dangerous team and have some very good players in the likes of Garbisi, Negri and Lamaro.
‘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.’
Jones has kept faith in No 10 Marcus Smith after the opening defeat by Scotland, with his Quins team-mate Joe Marchant shifted from the wing to outside centre.
Freddie Steward, Max Malins and Henry Slade have also held onto their starting berths in the backline.
Jones has picked a reserves bench loaded with experience, with uncapped forward Ollie Chessum being the only exception.
Joe Marchant has also kept his position but has moved to outside centre from the wing
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