Steve Borthwick has made nine changes to his England lineup ahead of Saturday's meeting with Italy, with the pressure on following back-to-back Six Nations defeats.

Since opening the 2026 championship with a dominant win over Wales, England have lost 31-20 to Scotland at Murrayfield and gone down by a 42-21 scoreline at home to Ireland. 

That latter result was the first time Ireland had ever won by at least 20 points at Twickenham, bringing a crushing end to England's nine-match winning run at home.

England are now in danger of suffering three straight defeats under Borthwick for the first time, with Italy – who finished bottom of the table in eight straight editions before Wales did so in 2024 and 2025 – level on points with them.

In response, Borthwick has implemented sweeping changes, with regulars George Ford and Fraser Dingwall dropping out of the squad entirely. 

Fin Smith will start at fly-half in place of Ford, while Tommy Freeman shifts from the wing to outside centre, with Ollie Lawrence out injured. Having made his first start against Ireland, young star Henry Pollock is back among the replacements.

Only Ellis Genge, Joe Heyes and captain Maro Itoje keep the same starting positions from the loss to Ireland, with Tom Curry and Ben Earl – who will win his 50th cap – being shuffled around in the back row.

Previewing the game, Borthwick said: "The huge positive is that I think it's going to be an exciting playing environment this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing them go.

"We're expecting a big test in Rome and it's one the players are really looking forward to. We know the challenge Italy will bring at the Stadio Olimpico, and we've selected a team we believe will deliver the level of performance we’re striving for."

Ready for Rome 

Head coach Steve Borthwick has named his match day squad to face Italy this Saturday.

@‌O2 | #WearTheRose

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 3, 2026

England lineup: Elliot Daly, Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman, Seb Atkinson, Cadan Murley, Fin Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Maro Itoje (c), Alex Coles, Guy Pepper, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Bevan Rodd, Trevor Davison, Ollie Chessum, Sam Underhill, Henry Pollock, Jack van Poortvliet, Marcus Smith.