Kieran Crowley has made three changes to the Italy starting XV that lost to France as they target a first ever win against England in the Guinness Six Nations in Rome.
Federico Mori comes into the back three to join Edoardo Padovani and Monty Ioane as Tommaso Menoncello – who scored a try on his debut in last weekend’s 37-10 defeat – drops out of the matchday 23.
Benetton teammates Marco Zanon and Juan Ignacio Brex continue their midfield partnership while the backline is completed by the half-back pairing of Paolo Garbisi and Stephen Varney.
There are two further changes in the pack, with Pietro Ceccarelli joining Danilo Fischetti and Gianmarco Lucchesi in the front row for his first Guinness Six Nations start.
The final alteration sees Braam Steyn return to the starting line-up, taking his place in the back row alongside captain Michele Lamaro and Toa Halafihi as Sebastian Negri moves to the bench.
Negri is joined on the bench by fellow replacements Hame Faiva, Cherif Traore, Tiziano Pasquali, David Sisi, Giovanni Pettinelli, Alessandro Fusco and Leonardo Marin.
Crowley said: “The match against France gave us indications on our work done so far. During the week the focus was on certain actions, with the right attitude and greater precision we have the possibility to continue on our path of growth.”
Italy team to face England in Round 2 of the 2022 Guinness Six Nations:
15 Edoardo PADOVANI (Benetton Rugby, 31 caps) 14 Federico MORI (Bordeaux, 11 caps) 13 Juan Ignacio BREX (Benetton Rugby, 9 caps) 12 Marco ZANON (Benetton Rugby, 8 caps) 11 Montanna IOANE (Benetton Rugby, 10 caps) 10 Paolo GARBISI (Montpellier, 14 caps) 9 Stephen VARNEY (Gloucester Rugby, 10 caps) 8 Toa HALAFIHI (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap) 7 Michele LAMARO (Benetton Rugby, 11 caps) – captain 6 Braam STEYN (Benetton Rugby, 46 caps) 5 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 26 caps) 4 Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps) 3 Pietro CECCARELLI (Brive, 17 caps) 2 Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Benetton Rugby, 9 caps 1 Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 16 caps)
Replacements:
16 Hame FAIVA (Benetton Rugby, 2 caps) 17 Cherif TRAORE (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps) 18 Tiziano PASQUALI (Benetton Rugby, 22 caps) 19 David SISI (Zebre Parma, 18 caps) 20 Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 37 caps) 21 Giovanni PETTINELLI (Benetton Rugby, 2 caps) 22 Alessandro FUSCO (Fiamme Oro Rugby / Zebre Parma, 2 caps) 23 Leonardo MARIN (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)
