England were forced to make second-half changes to their squad for the opening match of the 2024 Six Nations against Italy due to Ellis Genge's absence.
Today's match at the Stadio Olimpico saw a late change on the bench as head coach Steve Borthwick replaced Genge with Bath's loosehead prop Beno Obano.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has confirmed it was a foot injury that forced the Bristol Bears front row player to miss the match as England started with an away win.
Captain Jamie George
England will otherwise have the same squad announced on Thursday, with hooker Jamie George captaining the side in place of Owen Farrell.
George is flanked by props Joe Marler and Will Stuart in the front row, with Maro Itoje and Ollie Chetham forming a strong partnership in the engine room in the second row.
New Zealand-born Ethan Roots will make his starting debut as blindside flanker, with Bath's Sam Underhill and Rugby World Cup star Ben Earl joining him in the back row.
Alex Mitchell overcame an injury scare to start and partner George Ford at half-back, with Fraser Dingwall and Henry Slade forming the central pairing.
Completing the starting line-up are full-back Freddie Steward and wingers Tommy Freeman and Elliot Daly, with uncapped winger Immanuel Fay-Waboso on the bench.
Obano is called up late, with Theo Dunne, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Chandler Cunningham-South, Danny Care, Finn Smith and Fay-Waboso being options for Borthwick.
England have lost the opening round of their last four Six Nations matches and are determined to end that losing streak with a dramatic win against the Azzurri.
team
Italy: 15 Tommaso Alan, 14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monti Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Ramaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Luzza, 4 Niccolo Canone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacement: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnuolo, 18 Giosue Girocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Alessandro Izecol, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Federico Mori
England (revised): 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Daley. Roots, 5 Ollie Chetham, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacement: 16 Theo Dunn, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Danny Care, 22 Finn Smith, 23 Immanuel Fay-Waboso
date: Saturday, February 3rd
venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
kick off: Local time 15:15 (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Nick Berry (Australia), Nika Amashkeli (Georgia)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
read more: Ruthless Ireland make perfect start to Six Nations title defense against 14-man France
