England vs. Italy: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Six Nations 2015 Round 2 Preview
England will host Italy at Twickenham on Saturday in the second round of the 2015 Six Nations, high on momentum after their big comeback win over Wales in Round 1.
The Azzurri had a good showing against Ireland but still fell well short of winning in Rome, and like England, the Six Nations minnows are struggling with injuries ahead of their trip to London.
England will enter the contest as the odds-on favourites, and rightly so. While Italy are expected to put up a good fight, an upset is unlikely.
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Date: Saturday, February 14
Time: 2:30 p.m. GMT/9:30 am. ET
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
TV info and live stream: The match will be broadcast on BBC (for UK viewers) and beIN Sports (for U.S. viewers), with mobile coverage available via the BBC iPlayer and beIN Sports Connect.
Preview
The hosts will enter the match with the same 23 players who stunned Wales in Round 1, as lock Geoff Parling's recovery from injury is taking longer than expected, via the Daily Telegraph's Gavin Mairs:
Stuart Lancaster's squad showed a lot of grit in overcoming a 10-point deficit in Wales, and it shouldn't come as a huge surprise the team didn't undergo any changes ahead of their fixture against Italy.
England have never lost to the Azzurri, who were forced to call up veterans Mauro Bergamasco and Marco Bortolami to cope with a series of injuries of their own, per England's official Twitter feed:
The Italians put up a valiant effort against Ireland, keeping the defending champions' attack in check until Leonardo Ghiraldini was sin-binned in the second half.
The Irish squad hardly looked convincing, lacking any form of creativity in the build-up, but Italy's resolve playing in their own half was admirable. The Azzurri looked strong in the scrum but basic errors gifted Ireland most of their points, and those mistakes figure to play a role at Twickenham as well.
With Michele Campagnaro not playing, Andrea Masi will move to the centre of the back line to pair with Lucas Morisi, and that is certainly a weakness England should look to exploit.
Assistant coach Mike Catt also wants the team to focus on playing mistake-free rugby in the build-up:
Italy's defence shone in part due to their abysmal play in the line-out, and with little to show for offensively against Ireland at home, the Azzurri could be in for a very long afternoon at Twickenham if they don't show any improvements.
The momentum of last week's win should see England come out with plenty of energy, and Lancaster's men would be wise to keep the pace of the match high early. Tackling was the least of Italy's worries against Ireland, but any defence will give in to relentless pressure sooner or later if the attack can't hold up its end of the bargain.
If England can dominate the line-out like Ireland did and take full advantage of the mistakes Italy are bound to make, Saturday's match shouldn't present too much of a problem for the hosts.
Final prediction: England 36-6 Italy
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