England will look to make up for their disappointing Calcutta Cup defeat when they travel to Rome to take on Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Six Nations action on Sunday.
Six Nations
Italy v England
17h00
Stadio Olimpico
To Win Match
Italy 12/1 | Draw 40/1 | England 1/50
Handicap
Italy (+25.5) 9/10 | England (-25.5) 9/10
England will look to make up for their disappointing Calcutta Cup defeat when they travel to Rome to take on Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
Eddie Jones has come under enormous scrutiny for some of the decisions he made in the round one loss to Scotland, including replacing Marcus Smith with George Ford at a crucial point in the second half. He is expected to make a few selection changes for this one but shouldn’t shy too far away from the game his men employed in that defeat.
England lost the first match of the 2020 Six Nations before going on to win the title, so they won’t be totally disheartened, though they may need to rely on wins over Ireland and France to repeat that effort.
In their round one defeat in Paris, the Azzurri trailed by just eight points at the break before ultimately succumbing to a 37-10 loss. There were positives to take from their opener, and while they won’t have the ability to beat this England side, they may sneak in a try or two.
Verdict: Italy (+25.5) 9/10
If they can build on their display in Paris, Italy should be able to remain within the handicap this weekend as they continue to improve in the lead up to France 2023.
