Six Nations 2026 preview: Italy know they can make history against England

Both England and Italy find themselves in the bottom half of the table, though the mood in each camp is very different.

The Azzurri have been competitive in every game they have played. Since their shock win over Scotland in the pouring Roman rain, their form hasn’t dipped.

Sadly for the Italians, that form has not been reflected in the results, with two losses following the victory against Gregor Townsend‘s men.

The first was a narrow defeat to an Ireland side they are still yet to beat in Dublin, followed a week later by a loss against tournament favourites France.

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Can Italy strike first in Rome?

However, the important thing to consider across these defeats is how good Italy still look.

The Italian scrum has probably been the biggest surprise of the tournament, destroying the Scottish pack and holding its own against Ireland and France as well.

Apart from the one instance of their lineout wobbling against Les Bleus, they have been perfect with set pieces, which we haven’t seen from the Italians in the Six Nations, for ages.

Indeed, if it wasn’t for their oddly failing lineout in round three, they could have had far more success.

Keeping France scoreless over a course of 40 minutes is a ridiculous feat and the game would have gone right down to the wire if they utilised their chances, because there was plenty.

Italy will certainly be looking to strike early and put England under pressure. There are few bigger dangers in rugby than when Italy have their fans singing in full voice.

England have also shown they can struggle after going behind early, meaning there is real potential for Italy to secure their first-ever victory over England.

Is England’s winning identity gone?

As for the English, anything less than a win will begin to drive fans away, if they haven’t already.

It felt as though the world was at Steve Borthwick‘s feet ahead of this year’s tournament. Besides, after 12 wins in a row, why not deem them favourites?

But the idyllic view that many England fans had is lying dead on the floor.

Hopes of a first title in six years are pretty much gone now, with pride and redemption the only thing left to play for.

It seems crazy that within two weeks, Borthwick has gone from being heralded as a genius to calls for him to get the sack.

Although those calls are somewhat knee-jerky, it is true that England need to show something different this weekend.

Their performance against Ireland was baffling because of how lost they were. It had been a long, long time since HQ witnessed such a one-sided affair against their own team.

Has England’s defence lost its edge?

The George Ford at fly-half tactic, which worked so well during the autumn, seemed completely stale and perhaps is where fans would most likely want a change.

Marcus Smith has not had much of a sniff so far this tournament, and it could be interesting to see him play a role and spice things up, whether that be at fly half or even full back.

Another one of England’s glaring issues against Ireland was the defence.

The men in green made line break after line break and made their opposition look amateur. Gaps need to be plugged in that defensive line; otherwise, they can forget any chances of winning games.

The showdown in Rome is finely in the balance and is a great example of one of those games where no result would be a surprise.

If England rock up with a switched attitude and hands which stop the knock-ons, then they have more than enough to produce the goods and get back on track.

But for now, though, on their home turf, Italy will count themselves as favourites.

There may be some injury issues like Ange Capuozzo, but there is a depth in the Italian side like never before. They will fancy themselves all the way.

READ MORE: Lawrence Dallaglio: Time for England to go back to the basics after Six Nations defeats