Captain Owen Farrell will start at fly-half for England against Italy on Sunday with Henry Slade coming in at outside centre.
It means that Marcus Smith drops to the bench in a side which shows three changes to the one which lost to Scotland last weekend.
Previous head coach Eddie Jones looked to build his team around the Smith-Farrell axis, but it has lasted just one game under the new regime.
Ollie Lawrence gets his chance
Slade takes his place at 13 and is joined in the midfield by powerhouse Ollie Lawrence.
Lawrence usually plays at outside centre but, while he may get an opportunity to roam in the wider channels, England will look for him to punch holes closer to the ruck and set-piece.
He is preferred to Joe Marchant and Manu Tuilagi, who is once again left out of the squad after missing their Six Nations opener.
The scrum-half remains the same, with Jack van Poortvliet partnering Farrell at half-back, while the back three is also unchanged as Ollie Hassell-Collins, Max Malins and Freddie Steward combine.
Up front, Ben Curry was dropped from the wider squad earlier in the week, which means Jack Willis gets a shot at openside flanker.
Willis joins Lewis Ludlam and Alex Dombrandt in a physical loose trio unit.
Steve Borthwick has decided against altering the front five, resisting the temptation to start the better scrummaging exponent, Dan Cole, ahead of Kyle Sinckler in the front-row.
On the bench, Alex Mitchell is the replacement scrum-half after Ben Youngs was axed, while Henry Arundell is in the 23 shirt after recovering from injury.
Borthwick pleading for patience
Head coach Borthwick said: “We welcome an exciting and in form Italy team to Twickenham on Sunday. We recognise and respect the very real threat they pose in this Six Nations Championship and we are preparing accordingly.
“Notwithstanding the disappointment of last weekend’s Calcutta Cup result, we know that in a very short space of time positive steps have been taken towards the manner and style in which we want to play our rugby.
“We are at the start of what is a completely new cycle of England Rugby. The implementation of new systems does take time and the squad is showing themselves to be hungry to deliver the sort of performance that we know they are capable of.
“From the squad, I have selected a team for Sunday’s fixture that I believe is best placed to meet the specific challenges that Italy will bring.
“It is a selection of players whose form, individual strengths and combined qualities suit the way we want to play against Italy, in what we anticipate will be another hard-fought and entertaining spectacle.”
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Max Malins, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Henry Arundell
Date: Sunday, February 12
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
READ MORE: Jake Polledri and Marco Riccioni return for Italy’s clash with England
The article England: Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell partnership ditched as Henry Slade comes into the midfield appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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