I get the clamour for Fin Smith to start but George Ford is the right call – Andy Goode

I understand the clamour to see Fin Smith thrown in but George Ford provides a steady hand on the tiller and England have a good blend of the old and new to kick off a new era.

Steve Borthwick was never going to throw the baby out with the bathwater and go hell for leather with players picked purely on attacking ability, you can still see the imprints of how he sets his team up all over the selection but it’s evolution not revolution we’re looking for.

He’s still going to look at certain statistics more than some people might like but England had the slowest average ruck speed at the World Cup and only Romania, Namibia and Uruguay averaged fewer offloads than them.

Fixture

Six Nations

Italy

24 - 27

Full-time

England

All Stats and Data

They are a couple of stats that need to change even if England continue to kick more than anyone else in the tournament, as they did in both the World Cup and last year’s Six Nations, and particularly if they are to engage with fans more.

New skipper Jamie George is making all the right noises and I think supporters will naturally warm to him but if they aren’t at least working towards the brand of rugby that people want to see on the pitch, it’s still going to be a hard sell.

Marcus Smith would clearly have started at fly half had he been fit, and hopefully the rumours aren’t true and he isn’t ruled out of the whole tournament, but Ford is just as able to play an attractive style as Fin Smith and has more experience and credit in the bank.

You need to surround the fresh faces with some leadership and he might have been overlooked for the World Cup but Henry Slade brings that as well and Borthwick simply couldn’t ignore him for this one as he’s been tearing it up for Exeter.

That allows Fraser Dingwall to be blooded alongside him in the centres and he’s been key to a lot of the exciting things Northampton have been doing in attack over the past couple of years so it’ll be intriguing to see how he gets on.

That midfield is an area that’ll be particularly keenly contested as Nacho Brex is as solid as anyone and Tommaso Menoncello has really stood out in the few games he’s played for Benetton after he missed the World Cup through injury.

Everybody expects England to beat Italy and beat them well but when you look at the team on paper they have some real stars in the likes of Monty Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Michele Lamaro, Seb Negri and co but there’s no doubt England will be relieved that Ange Capuozzo has had to pull out.

The Azzurri made huge strides under Kieran Crowley but they definitely suffered at the World Cup with everyone already knowing he was leaving and they have been guilty of playing too much in their own half and even their own 22 in recent years.

Given the success he had at Stade Francais and the fact that much of that was based on a strong set piece and good game management, you would expect it to be a different story under new boss Gonzalo Quesada and Borthwick will know that.

Nobody wants to be part of the first ever England side to lose a Test to Italy and, while I do fully expect them to win like everyone else, this is far from a walkover and just an opportunity to give out new caps.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

21 - 24

31 - 29

13 - 13

36 - 0

24 - 27

33 - 31

23 - 22

30 - 21

16 - 14

24 - 27

2

Wins

3

2

Streak

1

9

Tries Scored

13

-34

Points Difference

-5

2/5

First Try

2/5

3/5

First Points

2/5

2/5

Race To 10 Points

1/5

If all the uncapped replacements get on, it’ll be the most new caps awarded in a Six Nations game since Stuart Lancaster’s first game in charge in 2012 but there are still 612 caps among the starting XV and a few players with a heap of experience on the bench too.

It’s great to see Ethan Roots making his debut from the start and he might not have done so had George Martin been fit but the Exeter man has been smashing everything that moves in the Premiership this season and is exactly the build and type of player Borthwick wants.

He’ll do a lot of dirty work but I have to say I’m surprised there isn’t room for Tom Pearson in the back row, and that he isn’t even on the bench, as he’s been one of the standout players in the northern hemisphere this season.

He’s been wearing number seven for Northampton in almost every game but can play across the back row, whereas Sam Underhill hasn’t played for Bath in two months but I think he’s probably got the nod because they don’t want too much inexperience again.

There’ll be huge excitement at seeing Chandler Cunningham-South and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso coming on at some point and all in all, I think it’s a balanced selection that’s based on form and full of players capable of entertaining.

England might not be favourites but they are certainly contenders for the title, despite having three games on the road, so the result is paramount but there has to be some green shoots for supporters to latch on to in attack as well.

This Italy side aren’t the whipping boys of years gone by and shouldn’t be underestimated at all but maybe it’ll take Quesada just a little while longer to get his messages across and I think England will come away with an 18-point win and a few tries to send fans home happy.