England v Italy: preview, teams and key stats
England's World Cup preparations continue with the challenge of Italy on Friday.
The match is being contested at St James' Park in Newcastle and is the final of their Quilter Internationals with the team flying to Japan on Sunday.
Owen Farrell, who captains the team, starts at fly half while debutant Ruaridh McConnochie is named on the right wing with Anthony Watson at full back.
Dan Cole starts alongside Jamie George and Joe Marler in the front row with Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes named as the lock pairing. Mark Wilson will start at openside flanker with Tom Curry and Billy Vunipola making up the rest of the back row.
Conor O’Shea has made 11 changes to his Italy team to face England following last weekend’s loss to France in Paris.
Full-back Jayden Hayward joins Mattia Bellini and Edoardo Padovani in the back three while the midfield sees Tommaso Benvenuti partner Giulio Bisegni.
At half back there is a first Test start for Gloucester's Callum Braley and in the forwards Abraham Steyn starts and will be joined by Jimmy Tuivaiti at No 8 and Sebastian Negri.
The second row is a combination of David Sisi and Dean Budd while the front row consists of Simone Ferrari, Oliviero Fabiani and Nicola Quaglio.
- When? Friday 6 September
- Kick-off? 19:45 BST
- Where? St James' Park, Newcastle
- Coverage? Sky Sports from 7pm and BBC Radio 5 live
VIEWS FROM THE CAMP
England head coach Eddie Jones: “We are delighted to be playing against Italy, one of our traditional Six Nations rivals and the game for us is another important step to develop our game fitness and game strategy. We have gone with a mix and match selection policy to develop our adaptability and the team’s ability to cope with any situation.
“We have had a solid training week in Treviso with hot conditions so we are looking forward to testing ourselves against Italy on Friday night. Then we hop on the plane and are ready to go to Japan.”
Italy head coach Conor O'Shea: “We will face one of the strongest teams in the world in a match that represents a new step in our preparation towards the World Cup.
"We will have a new opportunity to assess the players' state of form, in order to understand later how to continue the path to the debut against Namibia. Now our focus is on England."
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
- 2010 Stadio Flaminio, Italy 12 – 17 England
- 2011 Twickenham, England 59 – 13 Italy
- 2012 Stadio Olimpico, Italy 15 – 19 England
- 2013 Twickenham, Italy 18 – 11 Italy
- 2014 Stadio Olimpico, Italy 11 – 52 England
- 2015 Twickenham, England 47 – 17 Italy
- 2016 Stadio Olimpico, 9 – 40 England
- 2017 Twickenham, England 36 – 15 Italy
- 2018 Stadio Olimpico, Italy 15 – 46 England
- 2019 Twickenham, England 57 – 14 Italy
KEY STATS
England have won each of their 25 Test encounters with Italy, the Azzurri are the only side England have faced on 10+ occasions without suffering a single defeat.
England’s 25 victories over Italy have come by an average margin of 28 points, with Italy failing to finish within 20 points of England since 2013.
England have won five of their six matches to be played on a Friday in the professional era, including each of the last four in a row – most recently a 35-11 victory in the opening match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup against Fiji.
England will play a Test match at St James’ Park for the first time, their last home game outside Twickenham coming against Uruguay in Manchester’s Etihad Stadium at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
England have scored more points (280) and tries (35) than any other Tier 1 side in 2019, as well as maintaining the best goalkicking success rate (86%).
England’s Billy Vunipola has made 112 carries for England in 2019, the only player from any Tier 1 nation to reach triple figures for carries this calendar year.
TEAMS
England starting XV v Italy
15 Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 35 caps)
14 Ruaridh McConnochie (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
13 Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 2 caps)
12 Piers Francis (Northampton Saints, 7 caps)
11 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 46 caps)
10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 72 caps) C
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 88 caps)
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 61 caps)
2 Jamie George (Saracens, 39 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 88 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 60 caps)
5 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 74 caps)
6 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 12 caps)
7 Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons/Sale Sharks, 14 caps)
8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 44 caps)
Finishers
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 14 caps)
17 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 11 caps )
18 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 24 caps)
19 Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 11 caps)
20 Matt Kvesic (Exeter Chiefs, 3 caps)
21 Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 3 caps)
22 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 58 caps)
23 Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 7 caps)
Italy team to play England:
15 Jayden Hayward (Benetton Rugby, 18 caps)
14 Mattia Bellini (Zebre Rugby Club, 18 caps)
13 Giulio Bisegni (Zebre Rugby Club, 12 caps)
12 Tommaso Benvenuti (Benetton Rugby, 58 caps)
11 Edoardo Padovani (Zebre Rugby Club, 21 caps)
10 Carlo Canna (Zebre Rugby Club, 35 caps)
9 Callum Braley (Gloucester, 2 caps)
1 Nicola Quaglio (Benetton Rugby, 10 caps)
2 Oliviero Fabiani (Zebre Rugby Club, 8 caps)
3 Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby, 25 caps)
4 David Sisi (Zebre Rugby Club, 6 caps)
5 Dean Budd (Benetton Rugby, 22 caps) – captain
6 Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby, 19 caps)
7 Abraham Steyn (Benetton Rugby, 32 caps)
8 Jimmy Tuivaiti (Zebre Rugby Club, 4 caps)
Replacements
16 Federico Zani (Benetton Rugby 10 caps)
17 Andrea Lovotti (Zebre Rugby Club, 37 caps)
18 Marco Riccioni (Benetton Rugby, 3 caps)
19 Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby, 14 caps)
20 Alessandro Zanni (Benetton Rugby, 114 caps)
21 Maxime Mbanda' (Zebre Rugby Club, 17 caps)
22 Guglielmo Palazzani(Zebre Rugby Club, 33 caps)
23 Tommaso Allan (Benetton Rugby, 50 caps)
WHAT'S IN THE MATCHDAY PROGRAMME?
Mark Wilson has followed a well-trodden path into the England back row. Chris Hewett talks to the multi-tasking forward.
Feature taken from Friday's matchday programme. Order your copy - here
Related topics
- Attack
- T - Tries
- M - Metres carried
- C - Carries
- DB - Defenders beaten
- CB - Clean breaks
- P - Passes
- O - Offloads
- TC - Turnovers conceded
- TA - Try assists
- PTS - Points
- Defence
- Tackles - Tackles
- MT - Missed tackles
- TW - Turnovers won
- Kicking
- K - Kicks in play
- C - Conversions
- PG - Penalty goals
- DG - Drop goals
- Set plays
- TW - Throws won
- LW - Lineouts won
- LS - Lineout steals
- Discipline
- PC - Penalties conceded
- RC - Red cards
- YC - Yellow cards
England defeat Italy in Newcastle
England’s final fixture before the Rugby World Cup ended with a 37-0 victory over Italy in Newcastle.
It saw them end with three wins and a defeat from their pre-World Cup fixtures with Eddie Jones’ side crossing four times at St James' Park in a comfortable victory.
England led 9-0 at the break through three Owen Farrell conversions in a half dominated by defence.
Second-half scores from Ben Youngs, Joe Marchant, Ellis Genge and Anthony Watson sealed victory.
DEFENSIVE POWER
With attack being such a feature of England’s three previous fixtures it was defence that came to the fore against Italy in a tight first-half.
England’s superior tackle count of 88-63 in the first period epitomised the defensive effort with a period of Italy pressure lasting 23 phases seeing the home side, led by Mark Wilson and Tom Curry, keep out the Azzurri.
Wilson in particular was having an all-action half with five carries, 18 tackles and 39 metres made as England kept Italy at bay.
That shut out lasted for the entirety of the match, while at the other end despite the best efforts of the energetic Jonny May, England were reduced to kicking three penalties for a nine-point half-time lead.
MAGIC MARCHANT
Led by Kyle Sinckler and Ellis Genge, who were both early replacements in the game, England were reinvigorated after the break and after both props got England to five metres, Youngs sniped over for the first try.
Marchant lit up St James’ Park with a try on his first international start, jinking through the Italy defence to cross for a first England score.
With centre duo Henry Slade and Jonathan Joseph currently out injured, but not doubts for the Rugby World Cup, Marchant has shown his ability to cover if called upon during the tournament.
Genge charged over off the back of a driving maul for a first international try while Watson crossed on the left wing with 10 minutes left which Farrell converted for the final points of the game.
WHAT'S NEXT?
England fly to Japan on Sunday ahead of the Rugby World Cup with their first fixture against Tonga on 22 September.
SCORERS
England – Tries: Youngs, Marchant, Genge, Watson Cons: Farrell 4 Pens: Farrell 4
TEAMS
England: Anthony Watson; Ruaridh McConnochie, Joe Marchant, Piers Francis, Jonny May’ Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Jamie George, Dan Cole; Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes; Tom Curry, Mark Wilson, Billy Vunipola.
Finishers: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Kyle Sinckler, Charlie Ewels, Matt Kvesic, Willi Heinz, George Ford, Joe Cokanasiga.
Italy: Jayden Hayward, Mattia Bellini, Giulio Bisegni, Tommaso Benvenuti, Edoardo Padovani, Carlo Canna, Callum Braley; Nicola Quaglio, Oliviero Fabiani, Simone Ferrari, Dean Budd (captain), David Sisi, Jimmy Tuivaiti, Abraham Steyn, Sebastian Negri.
Replacements: Federico Zani, Andrea Lovotti, Marco Riccioni, Federico Ruzza, Alessandro Zanni, Maxime Mbanda, Guglielmo Palazzani, Tommaso Allan.
