England's Six Nations rugby team faces Italy in Rome with a complete overhaul, as Steve Borthwick makes nine personnel changes following back-to-back defeats. Fin Smith and Elliot Daly start, with Tommy Freeman moving to outside centre and George Ford replaced at fly-half by Smith. Rising star Henry Pollock is dropped to the bench. Jamie George, Alex Coles, Guy Pepper, Ben Spencer, Cadan Murley, Seb Atkinson, and Tom Roebuck also join the team. British and Irish Lions playmaker Smith leads a completely new backline, with none of the units behind the scrum having played together before. Maro Itoje captains the team, and No 8 Ben Earl wins his 50th cap for England. England have won all previous encounters with Italy, but the Azzurri are their strongest team since joining the Six Nations in 2000. Back-to-back heavy defeats by Scotland and Ireland have put pressure on Borthwick, with a trip to Paris to face Grand Slam-chasing France concluding another disappointing Six Nations. Borthwick's radical changes include a completely different backline, with only Tommy Freeman surviving and his position changed. Of the backs who started against Ireland, Freddie Steward, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Arundell, and George Ford are all dropped, as are Alex Mitchell and Ollie Lawrence due to injury. In the pack, only Ellis Genge, Joe Heyes, and Maro Itoje keep their shirts, with Ben Earl and Tom Curry shuffled in the back row, Jamie George at hooker, and Alex Coles in the second row. Sky Sports' James Cole comments that Borthwick's changes are almost unprecedented, with 12 changes in total, nine personnel, and three positional, indicating the importance of the game.
