Five Northampton Saints players will face Italy with England in the penultimate Guinness Six Nations clash this Saturday (7 March, kick-off: 4.40pm), as Steve Borthwick rings the changes with his selection for the clash in Rome.
Saints’ Tommy Freeman is the only remaining face in England’s backs from last week’s clash, shifting into the centres after an outing on the wing two weeks ago.
Freeman is joined in the backs by Club teammate Fin Smith, who makes his first start of the tournament at fly-half, while Saints’ only representation in the forwards comes from lock Alex Coles.
Two further Saints are found amongst England’s replacements, with Trevor Davison and Henry Pollock named there for their seventh and ninth caps respectively should they enter the action.
“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.”
ENGLAND SQUAD VS ITALY
Saturday 7 March 2026
Stadio Olimpico
Kick-off: 4.40pm GMT
15 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 74 caps)
14 Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, 10 caps)
13 Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 25 caps)
12 Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 2 caps)
11 Cadan Murley (Harlequins, 4 caps)
10 Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 14 caps)
9 Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 16 caps)
1 Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 78 caps) – vice-captain
2 Jamie George (Saracens, 108 caps) – vice-captain
3 Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 20 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 100 caps) – captain
5 Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 17 caps)
6 Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 10 caps)
7 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 68 caps)
8 Ben Earl (Saracens, 49 caps)
Replacements:
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 56 caps)
17 Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 13 caps)
18 Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints, 6 caps)
19 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 33 caps)
20 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 48 caps)
21 Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 8 caps)
22 Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 22 caps)
23 Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 48 caps)