England’s fourth game of the 2025 Six Nations Championship and third successive match at home welcomes Italy to Twickenham.
England have so far played three, won two, with their only defeat coming to Ireland, 27-22, in round one. However, both their subsequent wins have come by just one point – 26-25 against France and, most recently, 16-15 against Scotland.
Italy will be looking to bounce back after being humbled 73-24 by France in Rome. Click here for the latest team news.
When is England v Italy?
England host Italy on Sunday, March 9. The match will kick-off at 3pm (GMT).
The other round-four matches both take place the day before. Ireland play France in Dublin at 2.15pm and Scotland v Wales is at Murrayfield at 4.45pm.
Where is England v Italy taking place?
At Twickenham, or as it is now known, the Allianz Stadium. The match will be England’s first Sunday home game in the championship since hosting Italy in 2023
How to watch England v Italy on TV?
It will be on ITV1. BBC and ITV once again share coverage of the Six Nations in the UK: ITV has the rights for the home games of England, Ireland, France and Italy while the BBC has all the matches at Murrayfield and the Principality Stadium.
Who is the referee?
Ireland’s Andrew Brace has the whistle for England’s home match against Italy and has Craig Evans from Wales and France’s Luc Ramos running the line. South Africa’s Marius Jonker will perform TMO duties and Mike Adamson from the Scottish Rugby Union is the Foul Play Review Officer.
Brace has a truly cosmopolitan rugby background – he was born in Wales, went to school there and in Ireland, university in England and played internationally for Belgium. The former Munster community rugby officer was the man in the middle for England’s defeats by the world champion Springboks last November and Scotland at Murrayfield in the 2024 championship.
What is the latest team news?
By Daniel Schofield
George Martin has been ruled out for the remainder of the Six Nations with a shoulder injury, leaving England’s second-row stocks perilously thin.
The Leicester lock was named in England’s starting XV to face Scotland last week but was withdrawn 24 hours before the match because of a knee problem.
England now expect him to play no further part in the Championship but believe he will return to action fairly soon in the Premiership which keeps alive his hopes of touring with the Lions this summer.
Head coach Steve Borthwick only has three specialist locks in his current training squad to face Italy – Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum, who each started in the 16-15 victory against Scotland, alongside Northampton second row Alex Coles. Bath’s Ted Hill, who replaced Chessum in the final minute, also provides further cover but is predominantly a back row.
“Unfortunately, he won’t play any further part in the Six Nations for us,” said Kevin Sinfield, the assistant coach. “He’s actually got two (injuries) – the knee, which has been a niggle for some time, and the shoulder as well. It will be the shoulder that will keep him out of the Six Nations.
“We’re unsure at this stage (on the timeline). We’re very hopeful it won’t be long after the Six Nations but there’s still some medics investigating further.
“I think it’s an area where there’s been some injuries across the Prem, second rowers, so we lose another quality one. You’ve just had Ted in, Coles has been back with the squad and there’s still plenty of competition for us, but clearly George will be missed.”
Tom Curry, Ollie Lawrence and Ben Earl are all undertaking modified training in York, where England are training this week, but are expected to be available for the visit of the Azzurri.
Since Martin made his England debut in 2021, the 22-year-old has been dogged by knee injuries. Having worked with him at Leicester, Sinfield knows his hard-hitting style takes a toll but believes he will learn to adapt. “I’ve worked with him some time now, within two weeks I knew he was going to be a regular international,” Sinfield said. “You could just see it in his game.
“I think it’s how he plays. He’s that aggressive and that physical that at points his body takes the toll. You get better with age understanding your body, what you can and can’t do with it. George is still working some of those bits out but he’s done it in the way we’d like him to which is being so physical and so aggressive. Defensively he’s been very good for us all the way through. We’ll miss him. Attitude wise, he’s up there with the best of them with what he brings aggression-wise.”
England’s current squad
Forwards: Fin Baxter, Ollie Chessum, Arthur Clark, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Curry, Tom Curry, Theo Dan, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Joe Heyes, Ted Hill, Maro Itoje (c), Curtis Langdon, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Henry Pollock, Bevan Rodd, Will Stuart, Tom Willis.
Backs: Oscar Beard, Elliot Daly, Fraser Dingwall, George Ford, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Alex Mitchell, Cadan Murley, Raffi Quirke, Harry Randall, Tom Roebuck, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer, Freddie Steward.
Italy’s current squad
Forwards: Simone Ferrari, Riccardo Faveretto, Danilo Fischetti, Federico Ruzza, Marco Riccioni, Lorenzo Cannone, Luca Rizzoli, Alessandro Izekor, Giosue Zilocchi, Michele Lamaro, Gianmarco Nicotera, Ross Vintcent, Niccolò Cannone, Manuel Zuliani, Dino Lamb.
Backs: Alessandro Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, Martin Page-Relo, Tommaso Menoncello, Stephen Varney, Ange Capuozzo, Tommaso Allen, Matt Gallagher, Paolo Garbisi, Simone Gesi, Leonardo Marin, Monty Ioane, Jacopo Trulla.
When did England and Italy last win the Six Nations?
England last won the Six Nations in 2020, Italy have never won the title nor beaten England in 25 Six Nations meetings.
What was the score last year?
England won 27-24 at Stadio Olimpico in 2024 though Italy, in their finest campaign yet, were 10-0 and 17-8 up in the first half before George Ford’s boot and their own line-out fragility took the game away from them.
