Preview: Italy v England
Everything you need to know ahead of England's Guinness Men's Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome.
Saturday's fixture will be the first time either head coach has taken charge of a senior national side at Stadio Olimpico; Steve Borthwick faced Italy as England head coach in last season's 31-14 encounter at Twickenham, but for Gonzalo Quesada this will be a first taste of international rugby as Italy's head coach.
| When? | Saturday 3 February |
| Where? | Stadio Olimpico, Rome |
| Kick off | 14:15 GMT |
| Where can I watch? | ITV |
The last time the two sides met, Jack Willis, Ollie Chessum, Jamie George and Henry Arundell all scored for England while Marco Riccioni and Alessandro Fusco crossed for the Azzurri.
VIEWS FROM CAMP
Steve Borthwick
On selection: "After an excellent week’s preparation in Girona, we look forward to the challenge of playing Italy in Rome. The Azzurri are a dangerous team, with some talented ball carriers and players who like to find space. We’ll need to make good decisions, keep our discipline, and maintain a level of intensity to our performance from the first whistle to the last."
"Winning a first cap for your country is always a very special occasion. We’re delighted for the debutants who have all worked incredibly hard to get themselves selected in the 23 to face Italy. I know Saturday will be a very proud moment for the players and their families. My message to them this week has been to be themselves, to grasp their opportunity, and to play with the strengths and skills that deservedly got them selected to a strong Six Nations squad."
Kevin Sinfield
On Fin Smith: "We've been blessed with the 10s we've got and Fin has been in camp before. His form has been outstanding for Northampton and he has been training great too. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out where that might leave us. Fin is a young gun who has been in top form and that puts us in a very good position.
"His form has been outstanding for Northampton. They've done a great job with him and the combinations they've got in their backline has really helped us. Fin's got a maturity about him with his game management which is what you would expect from someone a bit later in their career. He is going to be a fantastic test player."
Teams
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Tommy Freeman, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Fraser Dingwall, 11. Elliot Daly, 10. George Ford, 9. Alex Mitchell, 1. Joe Marler, 2. Jamie George (c), 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Ethan Roots, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl.
Replacements
16. Theo Dan, 17. Beno Obano, 18. Dan Cole, 19. Alex Coles, 20. Chandler Cunningham-South, 21. Danny Care, 22. Fin Smith, 23. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Italy
15. Tommaso Allan, 14. Ange Capuozzo, 13. Juan Ignacio Brex, 12. Tommaso Menoncello, 11. Monty Ioane, 10. Paolo Garbisi, 9. Alessandro Garbisi, 1. Danilo Fischetti, 2. Gianmarco Lucchesi, 3. Pietro Ceccarelli, 4. Niccolo Cannone, 5. Federico Ruzza, 6. Sebastian Negri, 7. Michele Lamaro (c), Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements
16. Giacomo Nicotera, 17. Mirco Spagnolo, 18. Giosue Zilocchi, 19. Andrea Zambonin, 20. Edoardo Iachizzi, 21. Manuel Zuliani, 22. Stephen Varney, 23. Lorenzo Pani.
STATS
England have won each of the 30 men’s Test matches they have played against Italy, including all 24 in the Six Nations, their average margin of victory in those 24 Championship matches is 28 points.
The last time Italy hosted England in the Six Nations (2022) they failed to score a point as they lost 33-0, it was the first time they’d failed to score a single point against England in the Championship and the sixth and most recent time against any opposition in the tournament.
Italy have won half of their last eight home matches (W4 L4), including each of their last two (v Romania and Japan), the last time they won three on the spin at home was between 1997 and 1998, when they secured victories against Ireland, Scotland and finally Argentina.
Italy come into this match off the back of two 50+ point defeats in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, against New Zealand and France, only once in their previous 50 Test matches had they suffered a defeat of this magnitude and not since 1999 had they endured back-to-back losses by such a margin (both v South Africa), they’ve never lost three consecutive matches by 50+ points.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
2023: England 31-14 Italy
2022: Italy 0-33 England
2021: England 41-18 Italy
2020: Italy 5-34 England
2019: England 37-0 Italy
2019 England 57-14 Italy
Select your England XV to face Italy
Related topics
- Attack
- T - Tries
- M - Metres carried
- C - Carries
- DB - Defenders beaten
- CB - Clean breaks
- P - Passes
- O - Offloads
- TC - Turnovers conceded
- TA - Try assists
- PTS - Points
- Defence
- Tackles - Tackles
- MT - Missed tackles
- TW - Turnovers won
- Kicking
- K - Kicks in play
- C - Conversions
- PG - Penalty goals
- DG - Drop goals
- Set plays
- TW - Throws won
- LW - Lineouts won
- LS - Lineout steals
- Discipline
- PC - Penalties conceded
- RC - Red cards
- YC - Yellow cards
England defeat Italy in Six Nations opener
England got their 2024 Guinness Six Nations campaign off to winning ways with a 24-27 triumph over Italy in Rome.
England got their 2024 Guinness Six Nations campaign off to winning ways with a 24-27 triumph over Italy in Rome.
Tries from Elliot Daly and Alex Mitchell, as well as 17 points from the boot of George Ford secured the victory, as England held off a fine Italian performance spearheaded by Tommaso Allan's 12 points, and tries courtesy of Alessandro Garbisi and Monty Ioane.
Going in search of a first win against England, Italy set a blistering pace to the Test as full back Allan put early points on the board landing a long range penalty inside five minutes, and Gonzalo Quesada's men had their opening try shortly thereafter.
Breaking from inside their own half, Lorenzo Cannone led the charge deep into English territory before offloading to the supporting Garbisi to dot down under the posts, giving Allan an easy conversion to make it 10-0.
Ford reduced the deficit moments later after referee Paul Williams spotted an Azzurri infringement at the breakdown, and when Tommy Freeman made a line break, rounding Garbisi to put Daly away in the corner for a try, it looked like the hosts' dominance would be short-lived.
But as half hour approached on the clock, the men in blue spread the ball wide and centre Tommaso Menoncello cantered unopposed down the touchline before lifting a pass inside to Allan, who crossed the whitewash and converted the effort to make it 15-8. In doing so he became Italy’s record try scorer and points scorer in the Guinness Six Nations.
A pair of Ford penalties narrowed the scoreline as half time approached, Italy taking a slender 17-14 lead into the break, leaving Steve Borthwick's men much to do despite the men in white boasting a greater share of possession, as well as making more metres and beating more defenders than the Italians.
The visitors snatched momentum at the resumption, as scrum half Mitchell spotted an opportunity from the base of a 15-metre ruck, dummying his way through a gap and spinning out of tackles until he powered over the line. Ford's extras handed England a lead for the first time in the match, and on 54 minutes, his fourth penalty extended the gap to seven points.
Ford claimed his 17th point on 66 minutes with another penalty, before making way for Fin Smith on debut. Chandler Cunningham-South replaced Sam Underhill at the same time for his debut, and new England captain Jamie George left the field with six minutes remaining in the Test, which saw Maro Itoje take over the armband.
Daly was shown a yellow card in the closing stages after tripping Menoncello, and Italy captain Michele Lamaro suffered the same fate minutes later for repeated infringements at the breakdown. Freeman made way for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to earn his first Test cap, and despite a Ioane try in the final play, England held on to register a 24-27 win - their 31st over the Azzurri.
Reaction
Debutant Ethan Roots was awarded Player of the Match, and said: "It's pretty surreal, words cannot describe it, it's pretty special. There's lots of new caps in the squad at the moment and Steve said 'just bring your point of difference, that's the reason why you're in the squad'.
"I was nervous, especially here, we know Italians are passionate and never go away. But we came away with the win. We stayed in the fight, but full credit to the Italians - it was a great game."
England captain Jamie George: Really pleased with the endeavour, I thought the boys really dug in at times, I was pleased with the character showed. A lot of new faces in our squad. The blueprint in the second half showed what we're about. Defensively there were some fixes, and in attack we were more clinical and smarter coming out of our half.
"We pushed it today, it wasn't perfect, and we have to better going into Wales, but it was a good start."
Teams
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Tommy Freeman, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Fraser Dingwall, 11. Elliot Daly, 10. George Ford, 9. Alex Mitchell, 1. Joe Marler, 2. Jamie George (c), 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Ethan Roots, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl.
Replacements
16. Theo Dan, 17. Beno Obano, 18. Dan Cole, 19. Alex Coles, 20. Chandler Cunningham-South, 21. Danny Care, 22. Fin Smith, 23. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Italy
15. Tommaso Allan, 14. Ange Capuozzo, 13. Juan Ignacio Brex, 12. Tommaso Menoncello, 11. Monty Ioane, 10. Paolo Garbisi, 9. Alessandro Garbisi, 1. Danilo Fischetti, 2. Gianmarco Lucchesi, 3. Pietro Ceccarelli, 4. Niccolo Cannone, 5. Federico Ruzza, 6. Sebastian Negri, 7. Michele Lamaro (c), 8. Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements
16. Giacomo Nicotera, 17. Mirco Spagnolo, 18. Giosue Zilocchi, 19. Andrea Zambonin, 20. Edoardo Iachizzi, 21. Manuel Zuliani, 22. Stephen Varney, 23. Lorenzo Pani.
Fixtures & Results
Italy 24 - 27 England
England v Wales - Saturday 10 February
Scotland v England - Saturday 24 February
England v Ireland - Saturday 9 March
France v England - Saturday 16 March
