Italy vs England LIVE: Six Nations rugby score and updates from Rome today
England travel to Rome to face Italy
Follow live coverage as England take on Italy in their second Six Nations game of this year’s tournament in Rome.
England’s campaign began with defeat as Scotland retained the Calcutta Cup last weekend and Eddie Jones has now made sweeping changes with over half the team that lost 20-17 in Edinburgh removed from the starting XV or changed position. Harry Randall is the headline selection at scrum-half with Ben Youngs hoping to equal Jason Leonard’s England cap record of 114 from the replacements’ bench. “We’ve been really pleased with Harry. Ben started for us against Scotland last weekend and we’ve just reversed the roles,” head coach Jones said.
Italy, who started well before fading to defeat against France in Paris a week ago, have dropped flanker Sebastian Negri in one of three changes with Bordeaux’s Federico Mori replacing Tommaso Menoncello on the right wing while tighthead prop Pietro Ceccarelli comes in for Tiziano Pasquali. Follow the latest score and updates from Rome:
Player to Watch – Federico Mori
While much has been rightly made of Paolo Garbisi’s move to Montpellier, garnering far fewer mentions has been Federico Mori’s own French adventure. Another of Italy’s burgeoning young stars, the well-built Mori missed out in Paris last week but should add plenty off the wing to this Italian side.
The nephew of world champion hurdler Fabrizio, Mori has produced a number of eye-catching moments despite a crowded backs division at high-flying Bordeaux. His long-term future may well lie at centre, but Mori’s matchup with Jack Nowell on the wing should provide plenty of intrigue – the pair are not dissimilar as players, and both relish a little bit of contact.
Player to Watch – Alex Dombrandt
The decision to not pick Alex Dombrandt from the start and then deploy the Harlequin on the blindside from the bench raised a few eyebrows at Murrayfield at last weekend, particularly given Dombrandt did not spend significant time alongside club partner-in-crime Marcus Smith. Certainly he has been the form number eight of the Premiership season, a player who has added a significant workrate to his extravagant skillset. His relationship with Smith is extraordinary, a sort of eight-ten telepathy that gets the best out of each and the partnership.
“He is not an orthodox eight,” Eddie Jones said of Dombrandt this week. “He is a free-running eight who reminds me a lot of Bobby Skinstad the way he used to play. Gets himself in good positions to attack but he needs space and this game is going to have a fair bit of space so it will really suit him.”
Dombrandt and Smith combine wonderfully with Danny Care at Harlequins, and Harry Randall is not cut from drastically different cloth. If there is space to be found you can be sure that three of the most adventurous players at England’s disposal will find it.
Player to Watch – Joe Marchant
Joe Marchant won’t hold on to too many fond memories of his first visit to Murrayfield. Having spent much of the week in isolation, Marchant was asked to start on limited preparation out wide and was stepped decisively by Darcy Graham for Ben White’s score, before leaving Luke Cowan-Dickie exposed on the wing in his haste to cover across after the first of Finn Russell’s two fine cross-kicks.
Marchant is a better player than he showed, and gets the chance to again combine with Henry Slade in his preferred 13 shirt. The pair adapted brilliantly against South Africa in November after the early loss of Manu Tuilagi to injury, and as England continue to seek midfield solutions when Tuilagi is absent then Marchant makes sense as an alternative option. He may not pack the same carrying punch but is a beautifully balanced player with a knack for hitting the right angle, and his familiarity with Marcus Smith is only a positive.
Joe Marchant is back at his favoured position of outside centre this afternoon
Player to Watch – Michele Lamaro
Michele Lamaro’s lot is a pretty tough one, all things considered. Having been elevated to the Italian captaincy at the age of 23 in November, the flanker must contend with a side so often outmatched, which is the blunt reality of the battles facing Italy each spring and autumn. But Lamaro wears the burden well – he is a lively talker, even in his non-native tongue, but also someone who seems realistic about his side’s limitations and challenges.
He is an excellent player, which helps, in many ways embodying the spirit of this iteration of the Italian side – young, battling, tough. He led the defensive effort from the front last week, handling his business efficiently in a revamped structure that plays more to Italy’s strengths. They will face another tough test against England, but the back row remains an area of strength, with Braam Steyn and Toa Halafhi alongside their skipper ensuring there should be plenty of carrying punch.
A proud day for Ben Youngs
Team News – England
It is six changes for England, four in the pack, two in the backs, and one of each requiring a slight reshuffle. Lewis Ludlam had a very strong performance last weekend but took a bang to the ribs which has ruled him out of a trip to Rome, so Maro Itoje slides over to blindside flanker – Charlie Ewels replaces him in the second row. Eddie Jones believes this may be the ideal sort of fixture for Alex Dombrandt at number eight, while there are starts in the front row for Jamie George and Will Stuart.
Joe Marchant, having had a tough evening at Murrayfield, moves inwards to reform a centre partnership with Henry Slade that performed so well against South Africa in the autumn, allowing Jack Nowell to return to an England starting side for the first time in a while. At scrum-half, Harry Randall starts for the first time in the Six Nations, with his livewire combination with Marcus Smith set to provide plenty of sizzle.
Two Tigers at opposite ends of their careers on the bench deserve a spotlight: the sizeable Ollie Chessum can cover the back-row and lock, and should add plenty of work-rate if called for a debut; Leicester teammate Ben Youngs will draw level with Jason Leonard as England’s most capped male player if he wins a 114th cap.
England: Steward; Malins, Marchant, Slade, Nowell; Smith, Randall; Genge, George, Stuart, Ewels, Isiekwe, Itoje, Curry (capt), Dombrandt.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Marler, Sinckler, Chessum, Simmonds, Youngs, Ford, Daly.
Team News – Italy
There were plenty of positives for Italy in Paris last week, and Kieran Crowley will hope a slightly tweaked side can continue to grow. Braam Steyn steps in for Sebastian Negri on the blindside, and should ensure there is little drop off in bite in contact. Brive’s Pietro Ceccarelli starts at loosehead.
Out wide, there is no place for last week’s try-scorer on debut Tommaso Menoncello, but a summer move to Bordeaux has allowed Federico Mori a chance to showcase his skills in the Top 14 and the versatile, powerfully-built back forms an exciting wing partnership with Monty Ioane.
Italy: Padovani; Mori, Brex, Zanon, Ioane; Garbisi, Varney; Fischetti, Lucchesi, Ceccarelli, Cannone, Ruzza, Steyn, Lamaro (capt), Halafihi.
Replacements: Faiva, Traore, Pasquali, Sisi, Negri, Pettinelli, Fusco, Marin.
On to Italy and England!
There’s plenty more reaction from Cardiff and Paris across The Independent, but let us now move on to today’s affairs, and start by having a gander at the runners and riders in Rome.
France survive thrills and spills of potential decider with Ireland
France and Ireland’s clash in Paris more than lived up to the hype, an encounter of fearsome ferocity as Fabien Galthie’s side held back the Irish rally to take pole position in the race for the Six Nations crown
France end Ireland’s winning run in thrilling Six Nations clash
Antoine Dupont’s try just 67 seconds in set the tone for a breathtaking encounter at the Stade de France
Yesterday’s news…
Just before we have a closer look at the two sides selected by Kieran Crowley and Eddie Jones, let us reflect on an enthralling Saturday of Six Nations action, which began with tense, tight fare in Cardiff:
Scotland suffer more misery in Cardiff as Wales reignite Six Nations challenge
Wales 20-17 Scotland: Dan Biggar kicked Wales to victory after Finn Russell was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on
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