England to field unchanged side in Six Nations clash

09/02/2012

England will be unchanged as they take on Italy in the Six Nations in Rome this weekend.

Coach Stuart Lancaster will stick with the 22 on duty in the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield for the clash in the Stadio Olimpico.

Fans enjoying hospitality packages at the venue for the match may be delighted by the way England's new-look outfit has started and the continued faith shown in them by the coach.

"We have decided to leave the starting team the same to allow them more time to gel together and we are expecting our bench to come on and make an impact as they did last week," Lancaster remarked.

But the coach also said he expected the side to play better than they did in the 13-6 win in Edinburgh, particularly in attack where he felt England did not retain possession enough.

A better performance could help set England up well for their forthcoming Twickenham encounters with Wales and Ireland.

Meanwhile the Italians - who lost 30-12 to France in their opening game - make two changes to their starting line-up, with Marco Bortolami coming in for Cornelius Van Zyl and Gonzalo Canale replacing Alberto Sgarbi, who has been left out of the squad altogether.

By Keith Prowse