LONDON :England coach Steve Borthwick has gone with the tried and tested option of George Ford at flyhalf for their Six Nations opener away to Italy on Saturday, but has given debuts to centre Fraser Dingwall and flanker Ethan Roots in the team named on Thursday.
With Owen Farrell on a sabbatical and Marcus Smith injured, Ford is preferred at flyhalf, with Northampton’s 21-year-old uncapped Fin Smith on the bench. Uncapped winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, also 21, is another of the replacements.
Alex Mitchell has recovered from an infected leg cut to start at scrumhalf, with Danny Care on the bench.
Dingwall will start at inside centre alongside Henry Slade, with Tommy Freeman and Elliot Daly on the wings.
New-Zealand-born Roots is blindside flanker, with Sam Underhill and Ben Earl completing the back row. Uncapped flanker Chandler Cunningham-South is on the bench.
New captain Jamie George is the hooker, with Joe Marler and Will Stuart alongside him.
A series of injuries, retirements and unavailability meant Borthwick’s side was always going to have a new look to that which reached the World Cup semi-finals.
Only 13 of that 23-man squad who lost by a point to South Africa will be on duty in Rome, including eight of the starting XV from Paris.
NEW-LOOK SIDE
After England’s relatively successful, but tactically limited, World Cup run, fans will hope the new-look side show more variety in attack in Rome.
The presence of so many backline players from all-action Premiership leaders Northampton will give them cause for optimism.
Dingwall’s deserved call-up comes after being in nine previous training squads without ever getting into a matchday 23, while the return of Freeman is also recognition of his great club form.
Another Northampton man, Freddie Steward, is at fullback, with team mate Smith on the bench.
Slade was the big-name absentee from the World Cup but he has been playing superbly for Exeter and forced his way back in.
Roots, 26, qualifies via an English father, while Cardiff-born Feyi-Wabiso, still a medical student at Exeter University, opted for England rather than Wales as did Smith, who also qualifies to play for Scotland.
“The Azzurri are a dangerous team, with some talented ball carriers and players who like to find space,” Borthwick said in a statement.
“We’ll need to make good decisions, keep our discipline, and maintain a level of intensity to our performance from the first whistle to the last.”
Addressing the five uncapped players in the squad, he added: “Winning a first cap for your country is always a very special occasion. We’re delighted for the debutants who have all worked incredibly hard to get themselves selected.
“My message to them this week has been to be themselves, to grasp their opportunity and to play with the strengths and skills that deservedly got them selected.”
England have lost their opening game in the last four Six Nations and won only two matches in each of the last three seasons, but they have never lost to Italy.
England team to play Italy in Rome on Saturday (1415GMT)
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 57 caps)
12. Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
11. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 64 caps)
10. George Ford (Sale Sharks, 91 caps) – vice captain
9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 11 caps)
1. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 88 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 85 caps) – captain
3. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 33 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 76 caps) – vice captain
5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)
6. Ethan Roots (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 30 caps)
8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 25 caps)
Replacements:
16. Theo Dan (Saracens, 7 caps)
17. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 58 caps) – vice captain
18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 107 caps)
19. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
20. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, uncapped)
21. Danny Care (Harlequins, 96 caps)
22. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
23. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
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