Marcus Smith dropped with Daly at 15 to face Italy

10 hours ago 4
ARTICLE AD BOX

Men's Six Nations: England v Italy

Date: Sunday, 9 March Kick-off: 15:00 GMT Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham

Coverage: Live audio commentary via the BBC Sport website and app

Elliot Daly will start ahead of Marcus Smith at full-back for England's match against Italy on Sunday, with the Harlequins playmaker dropped to the bench.

Fraser Dingwall, who won his last England cap more than a year ago, comes into centres alongside Ollie Lawrence, with Henry Slade left out of the matchday 23.

Dingwall's inclusion means five of the seven backs are from Northampton, with Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith continuing their half-back partnership.

Jamie George starts at hooker as he becomes the seventh player to reach a century of caps for the England men's team.

Leicester scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet, who scored in England A's win over Ireland's second string last month, is preferred to Harry Randall as the scrum-half cover among the replacements.

England: Daly; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Sleightholme; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, George, Stuart, Itoje, Chessum, T Curry, Earl, Willis

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Baxter, Heyes, Hill, Cunningham-South, B Curry, Van Poortvliet, M Smith

Read Entire Article