Italy vs England – Six Nations 2024: Red Rose look to get off to winning start without key man Marcus Smith – stream, TV
ENGLAND head to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to kick off their Six Nations campaign on Saturday with an unsettled squad.
Red Rose will be hoping to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish, but Steve Borthwick will be missing Marcus Smith for their opener as well as former captain Owen Farrell.
Smith, 24, was hoping to start at fly-half this weekend until a calf injury he sustained in training shattered his chances of heading to Italy.
Assistant coach Kevin Sinfield confirmed said: “He’s not fit for this weekend. At the minute, we’re waiting for a second opinion on the scan. We will know more then.”
Borthwick will also be without England‘s record points scorer, Owen Farrell after he agreed to miss the tournament to go on a mental health break.
His rugby union club Saracens said the star had “decided to take a break from international rugby to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being.”
Red Rose head to Rome with seven of their 37-man squad in line to make their England debut.
When is Italy vs England?
- The match kicks off on Saturday, February 3rd.
- Start time is 2.15pm GMT.
- They face the Italians at the 70,000-seater Stadio Olimpico in Rome, home to the Italian National team since 2012.
What TV channel is Italy vs England on and can it be live streamed FREE?
- England vs Italy will be broadcast live on ITV1.
- You can live stream the match for FREE via the ITVX app/website.
- Alternatively, you can follow SunSport’s live blog to keep up to date with all the action.
Squads
Italy
Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli, Danilo Fischetti, Matteo Nocera, Luca Rizzoli, Mirco Spagnolo, Giosuè Zilocchi, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Marco Manfredi, Giacomo Nicotera, Niccolò Cannone, Edoardo Iachizzi, Federico Ruzza, Andrea Zambonin, Lorenzo Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Alessandro Izekor, Michele Lamaro, Sebastian Negri, Ross Vintcent, Manuel Zuliani
Backs: Alessandro Garbisi, Martin Page-Relo, Stephen Varney, Tommaso Allan, Paolo Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Federico Mori, Marco Zanon, Pierre Bruno, Ange Capuozzo, Monty Ioane, Simone Gesi, Lorenzo Pani
England
Forwards: Jamie Blamire, Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Curry, Theo Dan, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George (Captain), Joe Heyes, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Joe Marler, Beno Obano, Tom Pearson, Ethan Roots, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill.
Backs: Danny Care, Tommy Freeman, George Ford, Elliot Daly, Alex Mitchell, George Furbank, Tom Roebuck, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Ben Spencer, Henry Slade, Will Muir, Fraser Dingwall, Max Ojomoh, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
What are the odds?
Match result
- England: 1/14
- Draw: 40/1
- Italy: 15/2
*Odds courtesy of Ladbrokes and are correct at the time of publication.
All Six Nations 2024 fixtures – dates, kick-off times and TV channels