The second round of Six Nations fixtures in 2023 culminates with England hosting 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 his first win in charge, having lost to bitter rivals Scotland for the third year running.
Having replaced Eddie Jones in December 2022, the Borthwick era got off to a losing start, with Duhan van der Merwe scoring a superb late winner and securing Scotland's second consecutive victory at Twickenham – a feat they'd never previously achieved.
England did manage to get back into the game following an early flurry from the Scots, with Max Malins twice crossing, and took the lead early in the second half thanks to a try from Ellis Genge. However, back came Scotland, with two unanswered tries meaning they took the Calcutta Cup back to Edinburgh.
Italy were arguably even more unlucky to not get over the line, losing 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. Flying full-back Ange Capuozzo finished acrobatically in the corner, before a penalty try and 12 points from the boot of Tommaso Allan gave Kieran Crowley's side an unlikely lead. An off-colour France were reeling, but a try from substitute Matthieu Jalibert clinched the win late on.
With England still very much in the early days of Borthwick's tenure, and Italy a side who are firmly on the up, this game could well be one of the most open and expansive we see in the entire tournament. The 2022 tournament saw England record a 33-0 victory in Rome, but given how far Italy have come in the past 12 months, any sort of 'routine' win for the hosts looks to be off the table.
MORE: France's 2022 Six Nations Grand Slam triumph in detail.
England vs Italy kickoff time
England host Italy in the Six Nations Championship at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. The game kicks off at 3pm GMT on Sunday, February 12, 2023.
Here's the kick-off times for this game around the world:
| Location | Date | Time |
| UK | Sun, Feb. 12 | 15:00 GMT |
| Australia | Mon, Feb. 13 | 02:00 AEDT |
| Canada | Sun, Feb. 12 | 10:00 ET |
| New Zealand | Mon, Feb. 13 | 04:00 NZDT |
| USA | Sun, Feb. 12 | 10:00 ET |
| India | Sun, Feb. 12 | 20:00 IST |
| Singapore | Sun, Feb. 12 | 23:00 SGT |
| Malaysia | Sun, Feb. 12 | 23:00 MYT |
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.
MORE: Who is next England rugby coach Steve Borthwick?
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 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 won many a ruck penalty against an indisciplined France side last time out, and sees one change for 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.
However, the real eye-catcher with this Italian 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.
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.
| 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.