England v Italy: teams
The Saracens prop is rewarded for the huge impact he had off the bench in the first three rounds of the RBS Six Nations by taking over from Joe Marler at loosehead.
There are four other changes in the starting XV but the main news comes from the bench where Tom Croft is poised to make his return in England colours after successfully recovering from a neck injury which nearly left him paralysed.
The Leicester flanker was instrumental to the success of the 2012 campaign and his return is a major boost as Stuart Lancaster’s men chase their first Grand Slam in ten years.
In the pack, Tom Youngs, who was impressive as a replacement against France a fortnight ago,gets the nod at hooker over Dylan Hartley while another Northampton player drops to the bench as Courtney Lawes is replaced by James Haskell at blindside.
There will be a new half-back pairing too with Harlequins Danny Care getting his chance at scrum-half and Toby Flood replacing the injured Owen Farrell at fly-half.
Ben Youngs is on the bench with Gloucester’s Freddie Burns who makes his comeback after a knee injury.
Lancaster said: “We were very happy with the way we finished the France game. The impact the replacements made shows that we have competition for places across the board and we have had to make some tight calls.
“Italy will be highly motivated for this game and we will have to perform for the full 80 minutes. I am sure those starting will seize their chance and the bench will also have a significant part to play as the game goes on.
“The support at Twickenham for the Scotland and France games was superb and I am sure the atmosphere will be fantastic again for our final home match of the Championship.”
Meanwhile, talismanic captain Sergio Parisse has won is appeal to reduce his ban from 40 to 20 days for insulting a referee in the Top 14 last month and should be thrown straight back into action at No.8.
As a result of Parisse’s inclusion, Manoa Vosawai makes way while Roberto Barbieri starts at openside ahead Simon Favaro.
Quentin Geldenhuys and Joshua Furno form a new partnership in the engine room replacing Antonio Pavanello and Francesco Minto at lock with Alberto De Marchi preferred to veteran Andrea Lo Cicero at loosehead.
There are two changes in the backs as Luciano Orquera leads the attack instead of Kris Burton and Gonzalo Garcia comes into the midfield with Gonzalo Canale moving to outside centre pushing youngster Tommaso Benvenuti on the bench.
England: Alex Goode (Saracens); Chris Ashton (Saracens), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins); Toby Flood (Leicester), Danny Care (Harlequins); Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Tom Youngs (Leicester), Dan Cole (Leicester), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Geoff Parling (Leicester), James Haskell (London Wasps), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, Capt.), Tom Wood (Northampton).
Replacements: Dylan Hartley (Northampton), David Wilson (Bath), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Tom Croft (Leicester), Ben Youngs (Leicester), Freddie Burns (Gloucester), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester).
Italy: Andrea Masi; Giovanbattista Venditti, Gonzalo Canale, Gonzalo Garcia, Luke Mclean; Luciano Orquera, Edoardo Gori; Alberto De Marchi, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Martin Castrogiovanni; Quintin Geldenhuys, Joshua Furno; Alessandro Zanni, Robert Barbieri, Sergio Parisse (Capt.).
Replacements: Davide Giazzon, Andrea Lo Cicero, Lorenzo Cittadini, Antonio Pavanello, Francesco Minto, Simone Favaro, Tobias Botes, Tommaso Benvenuti
