England make 12 changes for Italy game as Borthwick swings Six Nations axe

Steve Borthwick has wielded the axe and made 12 changes to his England team to face Italy, picking an entirely different back line as he seeks to salvage his side’s Six Nations campaign with the most radical selection of his tenure.

Borthwick has made nine personnel changes as well as moving Tommy Freeman to outside-centre, Ben Earl back to No 8 and Tom Curry to openside. Fin Smith has also been installed at fly-half and with Henry Pollock dropped after just one start.

Seb Atkinson, Cadan Murley and Elliot Daly all come into the side to make their first appearances of this year’s Six Nations, while Guy Pepper returns to the back row. In a measure of just how radical Borthwick’s selection is, only the captain Maro Itoje and the props Ellis Genge and Joe Heyes are selected in the same position as against Ireland.

In the pack, Jamie George comes in for Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker, Pollock returns to the bench and Alex Coles starts in the second row alongside Itoje. Ollie Chessum, who has arguably been England’s most effective player in the championship, is among the replacements after he sat out training on Monday.

On the back of dismal defeats by Scotland and Ireland, Borthwick has rolled the dice. George Ford, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell and Freddie Steward drop out of the matchday 23 entirely while Alex Mitchell’s injury absence means Ben Spencer starts at scrum-half.

At fly-half, Smith is named for only his second start since last year’s Six Nations despite sitting out training on Monday due to illness while Gloucester’s Atkinson is set for his Six Nations bow at inside-centre, having made his debut on last summer’s tour of Argentina.

Smith and Atkinson have not played together for England before but both were at Worcester before the club went bust in 2022. Outside them, Freeman comes back to outside-centre in place of the injured Ollie Lawrence while Tom Roebuck is restored to the right wing. Murley, who endured a torrid debut against Ireland in last year’s championship, replaces Arundell on the left wing while Daly comes in at full-back to replace Steward, who was hooked before half-time against Ireland.

According to the rugby statistician Russ Petty, Borthwick’s selection includes the most changes to an England back line ever made for a Six Nations game, having never previously made more than four.

Ben Spencer (left) and Guy Pepper are among the new faces in the England XV. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

Genge and Heyes are again the props while Curry and Earl join Pepper in the back row. On the bench, Cowan-Dickie, Bevan Rodd and Trevor Davison provide front-row cover with Chessum, Pollock and Sam Underhill among six replacement forwards. Jack van Poortvliet and Marcus Smith complete Borthwick’s bench options.

“We’re expecting a big test in Rome and it’s one the players are really looking forward to,” said Borthwick. “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.”