"New Faces" - Predicting Steve Borthwick's England Team to Play Italy In Six Nations Opener

Throughout the previous 30 meetings between the two nations, England have never been beaten by Italy. A win for the hosts would certainly be a shocking result, yet it would stamp the Azzurri's intentions of moving from up from underdogs, to amongst the tier one Six Nations contenders. Italy have entered a new era ahead of the tournament, as Kieran Crowley has been replaced by former Argentina fly half Gonzalo Quesada as head coach.

A surprising announcement when it was first confirmed ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, given the heights that Crowley had elevated Italy to in his time in charge. The New Zealander ended the Italians seven-year wait for a Six Nations win in 2022, when his side stunned Wales to close out the competition in Cardiff. They also recorded milestone first-ever wins over Australia the following Autumn, and achieved automatic qualification for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

We enter the start of the new Rugby World Cup cycle, and Steve Borthwick's new-look England squad certainly reflects this. Borthwick initially named seven uncapped players in his 2024 Six Nations squad, and has since added the uncapped Bath duo of Max Ojomoh and Will Muir to the wider training group. Out of the upcoming Six Nations fixtures, Borthwick could well utilise the expected victory against Italy as a golden opportunity to blood new players into the international scene, and award test match debuts to some of the most promising Premiership talents of the season.

Here is RUCK's prediction, for Steve Borthwick's England squad to face Italy, in the 2024 Six Nations opening round match.

Kicking off in the back-three, and we have selected two debutants to start on the wing, amongst an experienced England fullback. It speaks volumes of the youth of a side, when a 23-year-old is regarded amongst the 'veteran' heads of a starting XV, yet we can see a Freddie Steward back and firing for the test of the Azzurri. The likes of Tommaso Allan and Paolo Garbisi like putting boot to ball, and despite England's position as favourites, they will need Steward's defensive acumen under the high ball, to provide a solid foundation in the back-field.

We predict that two of England's most recent acquisitions will start on the wing, much to the chagrin of Wales and Scotland fans. Cardiff-born Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Scottish eligible Tom Roebuck could earn their England debuts, in the start of two exciting careers in the red rose. Starting with Roebuck, the Sale Sharks wing had garnered the attention of Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend ahead of his England call-up, yet was not picked to join Sale teammate Arron Reed in the Scotland squad. With six tries across all competitions this season, Roebuck is hoping to make it a 'magnificent seven', with a try on an England debut.

With the discussion of a return to Wales firmly in the rear-view mirror, Exeter Chiefs wing Manny Feyi-Waboso is eager to make his break-through in the upcoming Six Nations. An explosive wing with a powerful carry, Feyi-Waboso also has six tries to his name this season. The excitement continues to build around the 21-year-old, and Italy could prove to be the perfect opportunity for a first time run-out on the test match stage.

Now, onto the centres, and what looked like the most nailed on area of Steve Borthwick's team took a late re-shuffling last week. The go-to midfield partnership following red-hot form looked to be Bath's Ollie Lawrence and Exeter's Henry Slade. However, despite being named in the initial 2024 Six Nations squad, an injury set-back has caused Lawrence to withdraw from the pack, and hand an opening to his Bath teammate Max Ojomoh.

Borthwick name-dropped Ojomoh along with Harlequins centre Lennox Anyanwu, amongst the players that narrowly missed out on the initial squad selection. Yet this unfortunate twist of fate for Lawrence has presented an opportunity to his teammate, who we expect to step up for an England debut this coming Saturday.

After tearing up trees in a barn-storming season so far, we can't look any further than Henry Slade to start in the outside centre slot. Having missed out on the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Slade returned down to Devon with an ignited sense of determination. The centre has been in phenomenal form this season, and provided numerous match-winning tries and penalty kicks, for his young gun Chiefs squad.

It has been a turbulent few weeks for England's fly half ranks, beginning with Owen Farrell's decision to step down from national team duties. With Farrell out of the picture, Borthwick selected George Ford, Marcus Smith and Fin Smith into the Six Nations squad, with the Northampton Saints man leading the contention for selection. Ford has recently returned from a knee injury, and Marcus Smith reportedly left England's training camp in Girona on crutches yesterday. Fin Smith could well lead for a test match debut, with Ford only utilised from the bench if it is necessary.

Fin Smith can re-unite his Saints halfback partnership with Alex Mitchell, which has taken the East Midlands club to the top of the Premiership table and on an unbeaten run in their Champions Cup campaign. Mitchell looks set to retain his spot as England's first-choice scrum-half, with Danny Care and Ben Spencer joining him in the wider training camp. We've gone for Mitchell from the off, with Spencer looking for a long-awaited England return in the match's closing stages.

Moving on to the front row, and this Saturday will provide Jamie George with his maiden voyage as England captain. The hooker looks set to build on his previous leadership outings at Saracens, and with the British & Irish Lions, as England enter the 'Eternal City' this weekend. George's Saracens protégé Theo Dan will be waiting in the wings for a second half inclusion, and could well get an extended run at hooker if England get a stronghold on the game.

After returning from a minor arm injury, Joe Marler is our pick for the number one jersey. The Harlequin has been as solid as ever in recent weeks, and was apart of the front row that dismantled two-time Rugby World Cup winning prop Steve Kitshoff's Ulster scrum in the recent Champions Cup victory. Should the England scrum falter in the second halve's early goings, we have selected Ellis Genge as the replacement loose-head for burst of steam.

The Italy opener could also provide Bath tight-head Will Stuart with a starting opportunity. Veteran Leicester prop Dan Cole looks like Borthwick's favoured number three, yet Stuart a big performance from Stuart could remid the England head coach as to what earned him the extended run throughout the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The Stadio Olympico looks set to be a proving ground for many England players, who look for the 'thumbs up' from Borthwick as he watches on in the sporting colosseum.

We predict to see Maro Itoje back in the England engine room, after the Saracen reached his revered top gear in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. A game-winning lock on his day, Borthwick may look to utilise Itoje as the bench-mark mentor when bringing through new second rowers. One of the favourites for the vacated England captaincy that narrowly missed out, Itoje's leadership has been widely reported, and he could help Alex Coles in his return to the England squad.

The Northampton Saints lock was last seen at test match level in the 2022 Autumn Internationals, where he starred across lock and back-row under Eddie Jones. The 24-year-old made his England debut against Argentina, before going on to run out against South Africa and Japan at Twickenham. Coles has been pivotal to Northampton's domestic successes this season, and has been rightfully rewarded with a national team return. We can see Borthwick giving him a shot against Italy, with Chessum ready for the harder matches of the latter tournament.

Rounding off the England squad to start in the Six Nations opener, we predict to see a test match debut for Exeter's Ethan Roots on the blindside flank. It was a tough call between Roots and Harlequins' Chandler-Cunningham South, yet after hearing Borthwick's explanation of how he tracked the New Zealand-born talent since his days with Ospreys, Roots gets the nod in our predicted squad. The hard-hitting back-row will relish the opportunity to take on the Azzurri, and could well enjoy an Exeter re-union with Italy-selected back row Ross Vintcent.

The exclusion of Billy Vunipola and long-term injury to Tom Curry, has influenced the decision behind Ben Earl's move from number eight to flanker. The re-calling of Alex Dombrandt also adds a specialist to the back of the England scrum, after the Harlequin missed out on selection for the Rugby World Cup by the narrowest margin. Starting with Earl, the fiery Saracen looks poised for a strong Six Nations campaign, and continue his run as one of England's most reliable performers on either side of the ball.

Dombrandt has been excellent for Harlequins following his World Cup omission, and looks set to reclaim his spot in the number eight jersey. The 26-year-old has previously stated how he never lost motivation on the rugby pitch, with his impressive Harlequins performances earning him a re-calling to the England squad. Five tries in all competitions for the 2023/24 season, Dombrandt has been a powerhouse in the back-row with the added explosiveness best seen around the loose of the park. His try against Racing 92 optimised this, as Quins recorded a historic win in the Champions Cup campaign.