England head to Rome looking to lay down a marker for the Six Nations as they attempt to make it three titles in a row.
It has not been the easiest of preparations for the defending champions, with Eddie Jones seeing a number of players suffer injuries and suspensions, but they have the depth to make up for those absentees.
Sam Simmonds, the replacement for Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes, has been the form number eight in the Premiership, while they do not lack for quality wingers, despite Elliot Daly’s enforced withdrawal.
Although Italy appear an improved entity, having seen their sides produce much more competitive performances in Europe and the PRO14, they still have some way to go.
National team boss Conor O’Shea is the right man to take them forward but, as the former Harlequins’ head honcho has consistently conceded, there is still much work to be done on developing their academy system.
Several youngsters have made their way into the squad and, alongside stalwarts Sergio Parisse and Alessandro Zanni, it is an improved side from last year.
The Azzurri, however, will have to go some if they are to be competitive with the visitors. While O’Shea’s men will think they can catch last year’s winner cold, it is arguably their toughest home game of the competition and a poor start may see confidence deteriorate.
No doubt, that is what the Red Rose are aiming to inflict on the hosts. Jones is not only expecting a victory – having won every game against the Italians, that should be a given – the Australian is demanding a dominant performance from his charges.
The Red Rose have struggled to find their rhythm over the past year and their 2017 Six Nations opener with France was much tighter than they would have liked. England began slowly and, as a result, failed to garner much momentum throughout the opening three encounters of the previous competition
Jones’ side will therefore look to alter a run of subpar displays in this tournament, with the dismantling of Scotland their only satisfactory performance during the last campaign.
There are not too many weaknesses in the Twickenham outfit’s armoury, with a powerful pack, good decision-makers at half-back and pace on the outside, but those units have not always matched the individual quality on paper.
For example, the scrum, while often solid, has not been as dominant as England’s set-piece used to be, and it is an area Italy will think they can target. That appears to be the only facet of the game the hosts will be able to get on top, however, so expect the visitors to come away with a comfortable victory.
Players to watch
For Italy: If the Azzurri want to run the defending champions close, their chief playmaker, Tommasso Allan, will have to deliver his best ever performance at Test level. He will be expected to lead Italy’s attack and keep the scoreboard ticking with his goalkicking. His inclusion in the run-on side for this Test ahead of Carlo Canna was a bit of a surprise as the latter has emerged as the first-choice number 10 under O’Shea but Allan will be determined to repay the faith shown in him by his coach with a polished display.
For England: The current Red Rose squad is pretty settled but Sam Simmonds is an exciting talent and it will be interesting to see how he performs with Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes on the sidelines. The Exeter player has been labelled as possibly ‘too small’ for an international number eight, but Simmonds is a fantastic athlete. He is quicker than most wingers, has superb footwork and is powerful in the contact area, so expect him to thrive in the Six Nations.
Head-to-head: England captain Dylan Hartley‘s duel with Italy’s Leonardo Ghiraldini will be an interesting one as both are robust characters who will give their all in a bid to secure victory. Italy are always up for the forward battle and Ghiraldini will be leading the charge for them in that department while Hartley will be doing the same for England. Coincidently, both play in their 90th Test and their experience will be crucial for their respective sides.
Previous results:
2017: England won 36-15 in London
2016: England won 40-9 in Rome
2015: England won 47-17 in London
2014: England won 52-11 in Rome
2013: England won 18-11 in London
2012: England won 19-15 in Rome
2011: England won 59-13 in London
2010: England won 17-12 in Rome
2009: England won 36-11 in London
2008: England won 23-19 in Rome
Prediction: Italy are confident that they can get closer to the visitors this time around but, even with their injuries, Eddie Jones’ men are far too strong. England by 18.
The teams:
Italy: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Renato Giammarioli, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Nicola Quaglio, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 George Biagi, 20 Maxime Mbanda’, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Jayden Hayward
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Ben Te’o, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Jack Nowell
Date: Sunday, February 4
Venue: Stadio Olimpico
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Nic Berry (Australia)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
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