Randall handed Six Nations chance
Harry Randall will make his eagerly anticipated first Six Nations start on Sunday as one of Eddie Jones' six changes to his starting XV from the game against Scotland.
Jack Nowell will also make his eagerly anticipated comeback to the England team for the first time since the 2019 World Cup group stage game against Argentina.
Another big selection headache was the decision to pick either Sam Simmonds or Alex Dombrandt at number 8, and it's Dombrandt who gets the nod over Simmonds, who was one of England's bright sparks against Scotland.
"We want to see Alex Dombrandt playing a game that we think will really suit him," Jones said. "Against Italy, games tend to be more open and unstructured.
"Harry (Randall) is a livewire half-back, he's very good in broken play. He's got a good solid pass on him and his kicking game is improving."
Simmonds' Exeter Chiefs teammate Luke Cowan-Dickie loses his starting role and is replaced by the experienced Jamie George at hooker as Jones shuffles his pack.
Maro Itoje has been named as blindside flanker for the match, a role he has not played in a long time, and it remains to be seen whether his Saracens teammate Nick Isiekwe will take up that role throughout the game having been named in the second row alongside Bath's Charlie Ewels.
One potential debutant off the bench is Ollie Chessum of Leicester who comes in and can cover both second-row and back-row for England.
England: Steward; Malins, Marchant, Slade, Nowell; Smith, Randall; Genge, George, Stuart, Ewels, Isiekwe, Itoje, Curry (capt), Dombrandt.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Marler, Sinckler, Chessum, Simmonds, Youngs, Ford, Daly.
Italy make three changes for England
Italy's performance against France on the opening Sunday of the tournament was impressive and has led to heightened interest in what the Azzurri could do in this year's tournament.
One bright spark for them was Tommaso Menoncello, who at 19 years and 170 days old became the youngest Six Nations try scorer since since Keith Jarrett for Wales v England in 1967.
However, he has been dropped for this game with the more physical Frederico Mori coming in to start for the Italians while the highly rated Paolo Garbisi partners Gloucester scrum-half Stephen Varney in the half-back positions.
Former Hartpury College student Sebastian Negri moves to the bench with South African born forward Braam Steyn replacing him in the pack.
“The match against France gave us indications of our work done so far,” said head coach Kieran Crowley. “During the week the focus was on certain actions: with the right attitude and greater precision we have the opportunity to continue on our growth path.”
Italy: Padovani; Mori, Brex, Zanon, Ioane; Garbisi, Varney; Fischetti, Lucchesi, Petro Ceccarelli, Cannone, Ruzza, Steyn, Lamaro (capt), Halafihi.
Replacements: Faiva, Traore, Pasquali, Sisi, Negri, Pettinelli, Fusco, Marin.
