Following their narrow defeat against Scotland last weekend, England’s new head coach Steve Borthwick made a bold statement deep within the bowels of an empty Twickenham.

Was it a ploy to emphasise the size of his task or perhaps to suggest improvements had already been made despite failing to win back the Calcutta Cup?

Perhaps Borthwick was just being frank, but the man in charge of England knows it is wins and not candid statements he needs.

He goes looking for the first victory of his tenure against Italy on Sunday and England’s unbeaten history against the visitors suggests there is every chance it will arrive at Twickenham – but this young Azzurri side poses a different threat to that faced previously.

The big question mark over selection was the fly-half position and Borthwick has opted for the tried-and-tested pragmatism of Owen Farrell over the dynamic flair of Marcus Smith.

Farrell was perhaps unlikely to be dropped after Borthwick named him captain upon his arrival, and the Saracens man will be responsible for unleashing a new-look midfield.

In Ollie Lawrence he has a physical ball carrier who will test the gainline at inside centre, while Henry Slade is an elegant runner and distributor at 13.

England were true to their pre-game promise against the Scots as they looked to move the ball quickly in attack. Joe Marchant, who drops out of the matchday squad entirely, failed to punch enough gaps in the blue line as a crash runner.

Lawrence has an 11kg advantage over Marchant so Borthwick will hope for more impact. Once the line has been broken, Slade’s skillset will come to the fore in attacking the space and feeding the back three.

But maybe the most exciting news from the team announcement surrounded a player who will start on the bench.

London Irish wing Henry Arundell has recovered from a foot problem to be named among the replacements, from where England attack coach Nick Evans says he will be “deployed”.

“Henry’s special, so special, and I’ve loved watching him train,” said the former New Zealand fly-half.

“He reacts on instinct. When he gets the opportunity to come in, it’s all about getting him into space and creating as many one-on-ones for him as possible. The one v one is something he works really hard on. It’s a super strength of his.”

Youthful Azzurri will show no fear

Duhan van der Merwe spoiled Borthwick’s welcoming party last weekend with two memorable tries.

Italy may not have anyone with the same physical attributes in their armoury, but in Ange Capuozzo, they have one of Europe’s deadliest finishers.

The 23-year-old full-back has scored six tries in eight international appearances after arriving on the Test scene from relative obscurity in the penultimate weekend of last year’s competition.

Capuozzo’s attacking endeavour typifies the young Azzurri side, which has an average age of 26.

Victory against Wales on the final day of 2022 ended a 36-game losing run in the competition before Australia were beaten for the first time last autumn.

They ran defending champions France close on the opening day before Matthieu Jalibert sniped over to claim victory with just minutes remaining.

Italy have never beaten England but head coach Kieran Crowley will want his side to play with freedom and attempt to exploit a defence that leaked four tries last weekend.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Italy’s 21-year-old Welsh-born scrum-half Stephen Varney said: “With Kieran coming in, he has brought a new playing style which suits the players we have.

“It’s been a really good year for us and hopefully we get a few wins now in the Six Nations.

“We want to play from everywhere, as you saw against France.

“We got close against France and we are up for the challenge against England.”