How England will likely line-up to face Italy in 2025 Six Nations
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Whilst England don’t hold all the cards to their 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations destiny, Steve Borthwick’s side can take a solid step towards the title if they record a emphatic win over Wales at the Principality Stadium.
England are eyeing up their first Championship since 2020 this Saturday, yet need favourable results elsewhere to bring the trophy back home to Twickenham.
Find your local Greene King and settle in to the Six Nations!
England must secure the bonus point win over Wales to be in with a fighting chance, before all eyes will then turn to Paris for the final match of the tournament. Calcutta Cup rivalries will be put to one side, as the support of a nation will be behind Scotland, to hand England the title following a win over France.
Should Gregor Townsend’s side secure the win over a Dupont-less French outfit, then the fabled piece of rugby silverware could well return to the trophy cabinet at the Allianz Stadium. Steve Borthwick has some big changes to consider ahead of the weekend, with the squad yet to be named for the trip to Cardiff.
With Ollie Lawrence now out of action with an Achilles injury, the back-line will need a reshuffle ahead of the trip to Cardiff. Here’s how we predict England will line up in the Welsh capital.
BACK THREE
15. Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
11. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith could well make his return to the starting XV, having been dropped from the leading team for the fourth round clash against Italy. Smith had to take a back seat as England’s number 23, as Elliot Daly was named to start at fullback against the Azzurri. However, the unfortunate Achilles injury to Ollie Lawrence through a spanner in the works, with Daly shipped to centre, and Smith introduced after just eight minutes. We expect the Harlequin to return to the starting XV, for England’s title push in Cardiff.
Alongside Smith will most likely be the Northampton Saints duo of Ollie Sleightholme and Tommy Freeman, with the duo established as Borthwick’s first choice wing pairing for the 2025 Six Nations. Sleightholme shone in the seven-try clattering over Italy, as the flyer picked up a brace across either half at the Allianz Stadium. Sleightholme’s first score was a race to the finish, as he pinned his ears back to scorch up the sun-drenched touch-line.
Sleightholme’s second score saw the Saints man cap of a Barbarians-style attacking move, as the likes of Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Tom Curry all got involved with some neat offloads to keep the ball alive. Freeman also grabbed a try against Italy, as he showcased his pace to gather Elliot Daly’s grubber kick, and muscle his way past Paolo Garbisi on his way to the whitewash. Freeman also offers the versatility to cover the midfield, in what has been a key talking point since Ollie Lawrence was withdrawn.
CENTRES
12. Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
13. Elliot Daly (Saracens)
On to the biggest topic of England’s starting team, and we predict a midfield pairing of Fraser Dingwall and Elliot Daly to lead from the off against Wales. There has been a real shuffle up of the centres since the second fallow week of the Six Nations, when Henry Slade was withdrawn from training with question marks around his match fitness. Slade was not retained in the training squad for the Italy Test week, and has not yet returned to England’s training camp in Surrey.
Fraser Dingwall made his return to the match day squad in the win over Italy, as he started alongside Lawrence for his first cap since the 2024 Six Nations. Elliot Daly is our pick to lead in the vacant 13 shirt, with Tommy Freeman and Ben Earl presenting covering options should the Saracen drop out of the match. We’ve bolstered the replacements bench with Tom Roebuck as a covering wing option, and the back row duo of Chandler Cunningham-South and Ben Curry to reinforce the artillery.
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