Italy v England: Teams

England and Italy clash in Rome on Sunday as Martin Johnson's men aim to preserve their 100 per cent record against the Azzurri.

England have won all 15 meetings between the sides, and another triumph this weekend will keep Grand Slam and RBS Six Nations Championship title aspirations firmly on course.

What a difference a win makes. Before England's 30-17 triumph over Wales at Twickenham it seemed the Red Rose were destined for a miserable Six Nations campaign - now they have the quality to go all the way, it seems.

Centre Riki Flutey was absent from the side which ended England's three-year winless streak against the Welsh, however he returns to the fray to face Italy.

Toby Flood misses out at No.12 as a result, with the only other change seeing Leicester team-mate Dan Cole come in at prop at the expense of the injured David Wilson.

Vision

Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, who fired over 15 points in the win over Wales, believes Flutey's return to the side has provided a 'massive' boost ahead of the trip.

"I enjoyed watching Flutey with the Lions and with England last year. Having watched him in training, he is incredibly energetic and he's buzzing all the time," he said.

"He is very, very vocal and he cares about every tiny detail. He likes to get loose and play as well.

"I can see a bit of Catty (Mike Catt) in him, in terms of his vision of the game, which is very clear. I see Riki as an out-and-out threat playing at 12 and he talks well too.

"When you are a bit wider in the 12 position you have a bit more time away from where the scrum-half is passing the ball to scan the field and see what is going on.

"As the fly-half it's a massive thing to have all those calls coming in so you know about your options and your decisions are better informed.

"The biggest goal this weekend for us is to play with the ball. It is a balance but seeing guys get the ball in the right areas is a key for me."

Blow

Manager Johnson has delayed naming his replacements until on Friday due to concerns over injury and illness.

Captain Steve Borthwick has not trained all week after contracting a bug, while Simon Shaw (illness) and Lewis Moody are also struggling ahead of the match.

However the trio have all been passed fit to play - with Johnson opting to name a 5:2 split on the bench.

That means David Wilson and uncapped Matt Mullan will provide cover for the front row along with Steve Thompson. Paul Hodgson and Toby Flood will cover the back positions

Racing Metro back Andrea Masi and Gloucester lock Marco Bortolami have been included in the Italian line-up in the only changes to the side that lost to Ireland.

Masi replaces Kaine Robertson in the starting XV, with the Viadana winger dropping to the bench.

Former skipper Bortolami comes in for the injured Carlo Antonio del Fava, with Valerio Bernabo promoted to the bench. Scrum-half Pablo Canavosio is also named among the replacements after Simone Picone was ruled out.

England: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 1 Tim Payne, 2 Dylan Hartley, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Simon Shaw, 5 Steve Borthwick (captain), 6 James Haskell, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Nick Easter.
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Matthew Mullan, 19 Louis Deacon, 20 Steffon Armitage, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Toby Flood

Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Masi, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (capt), 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Valerio Bernabo, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Kaine Robertson