The second round of 2023 Six Nations fixtures sees England facing Italy at Twickenham. Both sides were defeated at home on the opening weekend, and England in particular will be hoping to provide new coach Steve Borthwick with a first win.
The Borthwick era got off to a losing start as Duhan van der Merwe scored a superb late winner to secure Scotland a second consecutive victory at Twickenham. England got back into the game following an early flurry from the Scots, with Max Malins crossing twice and took the lead early in the second half after Ellis Genge’s try. However, two unanswered Scotland tries meant they took the Calcutta Cup back to Edinburgh.
Italy lost by an even narrower margin in their 29-24 defeat by France. Three first-half tries for Les Bleus left Italy with plenty to do, but the Azzurri hit back. Full-back Ange Capuozzo finished acrobatically in the corner, before a penalty try and 12 kicked points from Tommaso Allan gave them an unlikely lead. France were reeling, but a late try from Matthieu Jalibert wrestled the game back into their hands.
With England still very much in the early days of Borthwick’s tenure, and Italy a dangerous outfit, this game could be a potential banana skin for England. The 2022 tournament saw them cruise to a win 33-0 in Rome, but a ‘routine’ victory this time looks a lot more unlikely.
MORE: A profile of new England head coach Steve Borthwick.
The Sporting News is following the match live, providing live updates and commentary below.
England vs. Italy live score
| 1H | 2H | FT | |
| England | 0 | – | – |
| Italy | 0 | – | – |
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England vs. Italy full commentary, highlights
90 mins from kick-off: Hello, and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of today’s Six Nations’ clash, between a new-look England and resurgent Italy at Twickenham.
🗣️ “I am the referee, I’m not the coach!”
📚 Throwing it back to a tactical #ENGvITA encounter in 2017.#GuinnessSixNations #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/rcjFVzYqB7
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 8, 2023
England vs Italy confirmed lineups
Borthwick’s first major change to the England system he inherited comes ahead of this match, with Marcus Smith dropping to the bench and Owen Farrell starting in the number 10 jersey. The pair started at fly-half and inside centre respectively against Scotland, continuing their combination which previous coach Eddie Jones was so desperate to see bear fruit, but for this game, captain Farrell is supported by a new-look centre partnership of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade.
Brace-scoring winger Max Malins keeps his place on the right edge, as does Ollie Hassell-Collins on the left, who had a quiet but solid debut against Scotland. Further changes do come in the pack, with Ben Curry dropped from the 23 altogether and Toulouse flanker Jack Willis, the only member of the squad currently playing outside of England, packing down in his place at openside.
🏴 England are all set for Round 2 as Italy visit Twickenham.#GuinnessSixNations | #ENGvITA pic.twitter.com/Dsgl5zYqhJ
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 10, 2023
England Starting XV: Freddie Steward, Max Malins, Henry Slade, Ollie Lawrence, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Owen Farrell, Jack van Poortvliet; Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Lewis Ludlam, Jack Willis, Alex Dombrandt.
England Replacements: Jack Walker, Mako Vunipola, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith, Henry Arundell.
Italy’s pack one many a ruck penalty against an indisciplined France side last time out, and sees one change ahead of this clash at Twickenham. Simone Ferrari drops to the bench, with Marco Riccioni coming into the starting front row. The Azzurri barging their way over to win a seven-point try was the highlight for a pack who toughed it out for 80 minutes, with Zimbabwe-born flanker Sebastian Negri particularly busy.
Deluso, ma sopratutto fiero di fare parte di questa squadra 🤝🏽@Federugby #insieme pic.twitter.com/9Ou7l3OGxq
— Ange Capuozzo (@CapuozzoAnge) February 5, 2023
However, the real eye-catcher with this Azzurri side is their enigmatic backline, which also sees a sole change from the France game. Ange Capuozzo at the back scored an exceptional try in the left-hand corner to close out the first half, and is joined in the back three by Edoardo Padovani, the scorer of Italy’s momentous winner against Wales last March. He replaces Pierre Bruno on the right wing, while at fly-half, Tommaso Allan continues in place of the injured Paolo Garbisi, having kicked 12 points from the tee against France.
Italy Starting XV: Ange Capuozzo, Edoardo Padovani, Ignacio Brex, Luca Morisi, Tommaso Menoncello, Tommaso Allan, Stephen Varney; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Marco Riccioni, Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro, Lorenzo Cannone.
Italy Replacements: Luca Bigi, Federico Zani, Simone Ferrari, Edoardo Iachizzi, Jake Poliedri, Manuel Zuliani, Alessandro Fusco, Pierre Bruno.
🔵 #italrugby
Il Capo Allenatore Kieran #Crowley annuncia la formazione per il 2° match del @SixNationsRugby ➡️ https://t.co/nkVvMzqpa9
🏴🇮🇹 #ENGvITA
📍 Twickenham Stadium – Londra
🏉 Domenica 12/02, kick off h 16 (ITA)
📺 @SkySport ▪️ @NOWTV ▪️ @tv8 #rugbypassioneitaliana pic.twitter.com/Uqw2lpXhbr— Italrugby (@Federugby) February 10, 2023
England vs Italy live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the major territories:
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | fuboTV, Peacock, CNBC |
| Canada | — | |
| UK | ITV One | ITV X |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| New Zealand | — | Sky Sport NOW |
| India | — | Premier Sports Asia |
| Hong Kong | — | Premier Sports Asia |
| Malaysia | — | Premier Sports Asia |
| Singapore | — | Premier Sports Asia |
USA: All games are streaming live on Peacock and will also be available through fuboTV. However, they will also be repeated on CNBC on delay, usually by a couple of hours.
Canada: All games are streaming live on DAZN.
UK: Matches will be shown on BBC and ITV, with S4C also broadcasting in Wales.
Australia: Six Nations coverage is provided by Stan Sport.
India: Premier Sports Asia is the main place to watch the Six Nations.
England vs Italy odds
As expected, England are the heavily-backed favourites to get their first win of the 2023 Six Nations at Twickenham, with the highest odds at 1/12 from Sky Bet. Bet MGM’s odds are a staggeringly short 1/16, while Sports Interaction and Ladbrokes are both offering little over a dollar on a home win.
Italy are rank outsiders with the bookmakers, with both Sky Bet and BetMGM having them at 7/1. Sports Interaction and Ladbrokes both offer high odds on an Azzurri victory too, with the pair placing Italy at $7.79 and $8.00 respectively to win at Twickenham.
| UK (Sky Bet) | USA (BetMGM) |
Canada (Sports Interaction) |
Australia (Ladbrokes) | |
| England Win | 1/12 | 1/16 | 1.05 | 1.06 |
| Draw | 40/1 | 25/1 | 30.00 | – |
| Italy Win | 7/1 | 7/1 | 7.79 | 8.00 |
MORE: Scotland leave it late to snatch victory over England in Calcutta classic.