Steve Borthwick has made nine personnel changes and three positional switches for England's Six Nations encounter with Italy on Saturday, citing his players' failure to meet his 'unwavering standards' after back-to-back defeats. The head coach has selected an entirely new backline, with Tommy Freeman the only survivor from the 42-21 loss to Ireland, shifting from wing to outside-centre.
George Ford, Freddie Steward, Henry Arundell and Fraser Dingwall have been dropped from the matchday squad, while Fin Smith comes in at fly-half and Seb Atkinson is handed a Six Nations debut at inside-centre. Tom Roebuck returns on the right wing, Cadan Murley starts on the left, and Elliot Daly provides experience at full-back. In the pack, Ollie Chessum, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Henry Pollock move to the bench, replaced by Alex Coles, Jamie George and Guy Pepper respectively. Ben Spencer starts at scrum-half after Alex Mitchell was ruled out through injury, with Ollie Lawrence also unavailable. Only Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge and Joe Heyes retain the same jerseys from the Ireland match.
This represents England's most radical overhaul during a Six Nations campaign, surpassing the eight changes made before beating France in 2007. Borthwick, who has previously been known as a loyal selector, admitted his hand was forced following the performance against Ireland.
“I say to the team that we have certain standards, and I am going to hold them to those standards. There are certain things that, to me, are unwavering. Things that I will not move upon. Unfortunately, in the last two games, on certain things, we've not met those standards,” Borthwick said. “Clearly, in the last two weeks there are some key aspects of things that weren't good enough. Those have been addressed. How I address them, that changes. How and when I address them, in what manner I address them, that can vary. Because ultimately we want an improved performance and result this weekend.”
England also hosted Thomas Tuchel and his backroom staff earlier this week, following a visit from the 2003 World Cup winners. Borthwick said the German coach's approach to transitioning players from club to international rugby had resonated, particularly regarding refereeing interpretations. “The officiating in Prem Rugby certainly awards the attack more than it does in international rugby, that's one of the things you've got to bridge when you come into Test rugby. Clearly that's something that over the last number of weeks we've not done well enough and the opposition have gained an advantage,” he added.
