Six Nations 2015: England name unchanged side to face Italy
- Published
RBS Six Nations: England v Italy |
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Venue: Twickenham, London Date: Saturday, 14 February Kick-off: 14:30 GMT Coverage: Live on BBC TV, HD, Red Button, Radio 5 live, BBC Sport website, BBC iPlayer, mobile, BBC Sport app and Connected TV; text commentary on BBC Sport website. |
Jonathan Joseph and George Kruis will make their first Twickenham starts on Saturday after England named an unchanged side to face Italy.
Bath's Joseph was among the try-scorers when England opened their Six Nations campaign with a 21-16 win over Wales.
England coach Stuart Lancaster said it was important to "build some consistency" and that Italy would be "fired up" at the weekend.
Italy lost 26-3 to Ireland in Rome last Saturday in their first match.
"We know what's coming at us, but we have prepared well and are looking forward to getting back home and playing in front of our fantastic supporters," Lancaster added.
There are also no changes among the England replacements.
Lancaster had hoped to pick Geoff Parling as specialist second-row cover among the replacements at the expense of Nick Easter or Tom Croft.
However, the Leicester lock suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee injury.
Italy have made four changes for Saturday's game (14:30 GMT), with veterans Mauro Bergamasco, 35, and former captain Marco Bortolami, 34, returning to the pack along with prop Alberto De Marchi.
Giovanbattista Venditti will play left wing, prompting a back-line reshuffle.
Luke McLean switches to full-back, Andrea Masi to inside centre and Luca Morisi to outside centre in place of the injured Michele Campagnaro.
Bergamasco, who won his 100th cap against Japan last summer, is recalled for his 101st in place of the injured Alessandro Zanni, while De Marchi takes over from Matias Aguero.
England Six Nations fixtures |
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6 Feb: Wales 16-21 England |
14 Feb: England v Italy, 14:30 GMT |
1 Mar: Ireland v England, 15:00 |
14 Mar: England v Scotland, 17:00 |
21 Mar: England v France, 17:00 |
England: M Brown (Harlequins); A Watson (Bath Rugby), J Joseph (Bath Rugby), L Burrell (Northampton Saints), J May (Gloucester Rugby); G Ford (Bath Rugby), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers); J Marler (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton Saints), D Cole (Leicester Tigers); D Attwood (Bath Rugby), G Kruis (Saracens); J Haskell (Wasps), C Robshaw (captain, Harlequins), B Vunipola (Saracens).
Replacements: T Youngs (Leicester Tigers), M Vunipola (Saracens), K Brookes (Newcastle Falcons), N Easter (Harlequins), T Croft (Leicester Tigers), R Wigglesworth (Saracens), D Cipriani (Sale Sharks), B Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby).
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