England look to keep their slim championship hopes alive as the Azzurri come to town
Watch England v Italy as the Azzurri aim for their first ever Six Nations victory over England. Read on for all the information you need to watch this Allianz Stadium, Twickenham encounter as it happens today, whether you want to follow the action on TV or online.
As they head into their final home fixture of this year’s championship, England remain in with a shot of a first title since 2020. But, following France’s win over Ireland, they’ll need a big win over Italy to stay in contention. Gonzalo Quesada’s side has had its moments this year – most notably in their victory over Wales – but will be licking their wounds following a humbling defeat to France a fortnight ago.
Today’s encounter gets underway at 3.00pm GMT / 4.00pm CET on a warm and dry afternoon in west London, and you can watch England v Italy for free in the UK, Italy and France. This guide will tell you everything you need to tune in, wherever you are in the world. You’ll find a match preview and team news at the bottom of the page.
Read more: Six breakthrough stars to watch in the 2025 Six Nations
Key information
– England v Italy date: Sunday 9 March 2025
– England v Italy kick-off time: 3.00pm local (GMT) / 4.00pm CET / 11.00am ET / 4.00pm SAST / 2.00am AEDT (Monday)
– England v Italy venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, England
– England v Italy on TV: ITV1, RTÉ2, TV8, France 2
– England v Italy streams: ITVX (free), RTÉ Player (free), FranceTV (free)
– Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk-free
How to watch England v Italy live stream for free in the UK
As with all of England’s home games in this season’s Six Nations, the side’s final Allianz Stadium match of the campaign is available for free on ITV in the UK.
Terrestrial viewers can watch on ITV1, while a free England v Italy live stream is also available on the ITVX streaming service. The platform is free to use on your computer, through the smartphone/tablet app and on your smart TV, though you do need to complete a simple registration. Don’t forget, too, that you need a valid TV Licence to stream live TV in the UK.
ITV’s England v Italy coverage starts at 2.15pm GMT this afternoon ahead of the 3.00pm GMT kick-off.
How to watch England v Italy from overseas
Even if you’re travelling abroad this weekend there’s no need to fret about missing the final Six Nations match of the weekend. Even though geo-blocking can prevent you from watching your usual streaming services from overseas, a handy little piece of software called a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can help you tune in as if you were back home on your sofa.
How? A VPN can make can make your computer, smartphone or tablet appear to be in a different country by changing your device’s IP address. This allows you to unblock geo-blocked streams and, as an extra bonus, VPNs can also improve your internet security and privacy.
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Our smart office mates at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPNs, and they reckon the best of the bunch is NordVPN. Better still, it’s available for a massive discount during the Six Nations.
How to watch England v Italy in Ireland
In Ireland, you can watch England v Italy through free broadcaster RTÉ.
Terrestrial viewers can tune into the match via RTÉ2, while England v Italy live streams are available through the RTÉ Player streaming app and through the in-browser player. Best of all, no sign-up is required.
The build-up starts at 2.30pm ahead of the 3.00pm kick-off.
How to watch England v Italy in Italy
Subscription service Sky Sports Italia is the main Six Nations broadcaster in Italy but all of the Azzurri’s games are also free to watch through TV8, including England v Italy. TV8 comes on free-to-air terrestrial television but you can also watch online through a simple browser player. There’s no need to register or sign in.
How to watch England v Italy in France
Free-to-air public broadcaster France Télévisions has the rights to every Six Nations game, and England v Italy is no exception.
Terrestrial viewers can watch the action as it happens on France 2, while an England v Italy live stream is available on the FranceTV platform. Both options are free to view.
The build-up starts at 3.50pm CET ahead of the 4.00pm CET kick-off.
England v Italy: other global streams
USA: Rugby fans in the US need the Peacock streaming platform to watch England v Italy. It costs $7.99 per month to subscribe.
Australia: If you’re down under, Stan Sport is the place to go for live Six Nations action. The service will cost you $15 per month on top of the base Stan subscription of $12 per month.
New Zealand: Kiwis should head to Sky Sport to watch England v Italy. A streaming sub will set you back $49.99 a month, but coverage is also available through satellite TV.
South Africa: Rugby lovers in South Africa need SuperSport to watch England v Italy.
- Looking for more broadcasters around the world? Check out our full how to watch Six Nations 2025 guide.
England v Italy preview
England have never lost to Italy in the Six Nations and they’ll need that record to stay intact (along with a bonus point win) if they’re going to keep alive their slim mathematical hopes of winning a first Six Nations title since 2020. Both the form book and the world rankings point to victory for Steve Borthwick’s side, but this fixture is unlikely to be the points difference-builder it once was – last year England had to come from behind to secure a narrow 27-24 victory in Rome.
Indeed, England matches of late have tended to be tight affairs. So while the narrow defeats they suffered against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa in the autumn have been turned into single-point victories over France and Scotland this year, both games were decided in the final minute, with England arguably lucky to win either. The 22-27 scoreline in England’s opening weekend defeat to Ireland made the match seem much closer than it ultimately was.
Borthwick and his coaching staff are still looking for the right blend, despite a squad that looks very strong on paper. They’ve subsequently made some big decisions for their final home match of the championship, the most headline-grabbing being the decision to drop Marcus Smith – starting fly-half in the opening game of the tournament – to the bench. Elliot Daly takes his place at full-back.
Read more: I don’t think England have what it takes to beat Italy but will escape with a draw
They’ve also broken up the long-standing Ollie Lawrence/Henry Slade centre partnership by leaving Slade out of the 23 entirely. Fraser Dingwall comes into the team in the number 12 shirt, meaning that five out of the seven backs hail from Northampton Saints. Can the combinations that won the Premiership last season make the step up to international level?
Former England rugby captain Jamie George also returns to the starting line-up to win his 100th cap.
Italy come into the match on the back of a disastrous 24-73 home defeat to a rampant France side, making their dominant win over Wales feel like a distant memory. With their final match coming against Ireland (who’ll have something to prove after yesterday’s defeat to France, Gonzalo Quesada’s team need a victory at the Allianz Stadium to show that last year’s record haul of two wins and a draw wasn’t a blip.
The head coach has subsequently given the team an overhaul, dropping Tomasso Allan to the bench as Ange Capuozzo shifts across the back line to full-back, and Monty Ioane returns on the wing after injury. Matt Gallagher starts on the other wing, while Stephen Varney makes his first appearance of the year at scrum-half. Giacomo Nicotera, Marco Riccioni and Ross Vintcent are all brought into the pack. The question is, will it be enough to secure the Azzurri’s first ever Six Nations win over England?
England v Italy teams and officials
Steve Borthwick makes a couple of massive calls in the backs, dropping Marcus Smith to the bench and leaving Henry Slade out of the 23 entirely. Elliot Daly and Fraser Dingwall, respectively, are the beneficiaries. Jamie George returns to the starting line-up at hooker.
Gonzalo Quesada, meanwhile, has gone even bigger on the changes, with six changes to the side that lost so comprehensively to France. Stephen Varney makes his first appearance of the tournament at scrum-half, while Monty Ioane returns from injury on the wing.
ENGLAND
15. Elliot Daly
14. Tommy Freeman
13. Ollie Lawrence
12. Fraser Dingwall
11. Ollie Sleightholme
10. Fin Smith
9. Alex Mitchell
1. Ellis Genge (vice-captain)
2. Jamie George (vice-captain)
3. Will Stuart
4. Maro Itoje (captain)
5. Ollie Chessum
6. Tom Curry
7. Ben Earl
8. Tom Willis
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie
17. Fin Baxter
18. Joe Heyes
19. Ted Hill
20. Chandler Cunningham-South
21. Ben Curry
22. Jack van Poortvliet
23. Marcus Smith
ITALY
15. Ange Capuozzo
14. Monty Ioane
13. Juan Ignacio Brex
12. Tommaso Menoncello
11. Matt Gallagher
10. Paolo Garbisi
9. Stephen Varney
1. Danilo Fischetti
2. Giacomo Nicotera
3. Marco Riccioni
4. Niccolò Cannone
5. Federico Ruzza
6. Sebastian Negri
7. Michele Lamaro (captain)
8. Ross Vintcent
Replacements:
16. Gianmarco Lucchesi
17. Mirco Spagnolo
18. Simone Ferrari
19. Riccardo Favretto
20. Manuel Zuliani
21. Lorenzo Cannone
22. Martin Page-Relo
23. Tomasso Allan
Andrew Brace of Ireland takes charge of today’s game, with Wales’ Craig Evans and France’s Luc Ramos as his assistants. Marius Jonker of South Africa is in the TMO booth.
Read more: Six Nations referees: officials for the 2025 tournament
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