Captain Owen Farrell will start at fly-half for England against Italy on Sunday with Henry Slade coming into the team at outside centre.

It means that the exciting Marcus Smith drops to the bench in a XV which shows three changes to the one which went down to Scotland last weekend.

Previous head coach Eddie Jones had looked to build his team around the Smith-Farrell axis, but it has lasted just one game under the new regime.

Ollie Lawrence gets his chance

Slade takes his place at 13 and is joined in the midfield by powerhouse Ollie Lawrence.

Lawrence usually plays at outside centre but, while he may get an opportunity to roam in the wider channels, England will look for him to punch holes closer to the ruck and set-piece at Twickenham.

He is preferred to Joe Marchant and Manu Tuilagi, who is once again left out of the squad after missing their Six Nations opener.

The scrum-half remains the same, with Jack van Poortvliet partnering Farrell at half-back, while the back three is also unchanged as Ollie Hassell-Collins, Max Malins and Freddie Steward combine.

Up front, Ben Curry was dropped from the wider squad earlier in the week, which means Jack Willis gets a shot at openside flanker.

Willis joins Lewis Ludlam and Alex Dombrandt in a physical loose trio unit.

Steve Borthwick has decided against altering the front five, resisting the temptation to start the better scrummaging exponent, Dan Cole, ahead of Kyle Sinckler in the front-row.

On the bench, Alex Mitchell is the replacement scrum-half after Ben Youngs was axed, while Henry Arundell is in the 23 shirt after recovering from injury.

Borthwick pleading for patience

Head coach Borthwick said: “We welcome an exciting and in form Italy team to Twickenham on Sunday. We recognise and respect the very real threat they pose in this Six Nations Championship and we are preparing accordingly.

“Notwithstanding the disappointment of last weekend’s Calcutta Cup result, we know that in a very short space of time positive steps have been taken towards the manner and style in which we want to play our rugby.

“We are at the start of what is a completely new cycle of England Rugby. The implementation of new systems does take time and the squad is showing themselves to be hungry to deliver the sort of performance that we know they are capable of.

“From the squad, I have selected a team for Sunday’s fixture that I believe is best placed to meet the specific challenges that Italy will bring.

“It is a selection of players whose form, individual strengths and combined qualities suit the way we want to play against Italy, in what we anticipate will be another hard-fought and entertaining spectacle.”

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Max Malins, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Henry Arundell

Date: Sunday, February 12
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Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

There have been several players who have switched clubs ahead of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season. In a new series, Rugby.com.au sits down with some of the key transfers, looking at Melbourne Rebels hooker Alex Mafi.Mafi had his 2022 season drastically cut short after suffering a neck injury during their round two clash with the NSW Waratahs.It forced the 26-year-old to work on himself outside of simply being 'Alex Mafi the Rugby player'“I was consciously aware that I could control my own thoughts," he said. “Despite the surroundings and realty of my situation, I knew I had a choice to embrace the channelling and take the challenge that was handed to me with two hands and add to my character “It was a tough challenge but being consciously aware that I’m in control of my own thoughts and putting myself in that space of positivity. Also, having my mind on stuff other than rugby and having that approach from a gratitude perspective of being grateful for a lot of other things in my life.”“Once that identity was taken away from me in terms of not being able to play Rugby, I started to invest myself my identity as a partner, as a brother, as a son and really invest myself into those areas of life.“I feel like that approach helped me control my thoughts in a positive way. I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason and I was given this opportunity through this injury to invest myself in who I am as a person, not just Alex Mafi the Rugby player who people might recognise as.“…This outlook that have come to know and taken upon, it allows me to pour myself 100% into all these areas with this real sense of balance that I have at the moment.”Mafi made his name coming through the Queensland Reds system, however, got to the stage of his career where he wanted to test himself in a new environment.Mafi had been going to Ballymore for close to a decade straight and when the opportunity for a change of scenery opened up, he took it.He leaned heavily on former Reds teammate and returning prop Sam Talakai as he signed a two-year deal to join the Stockade.“I hit a point in my career where a little bit of change was probably needed,” he believes. "I spent eight years at the Reds and before that, coming through the system, I’d been going to Ballymore since grade nine.“It’s been quite easy to fit right in with how tight this group is. It’s been quite an easy transition. It’s been great to come down here and learn under ‘Footy’ (Rebels head coach Kevin Foote) and get the experience of a different approach to Rugby. “I’m a massive student of the game so to get that opportunity to learn a different approach to how Rugby is played has been really good.“I feel like I’m in career-best nick at the moment and I think that’s a product of change and this program that we’ve got here.”

After everything he has gone through, Mafi is putting any talk of a potential Wallabies call-up out of his mind after multiple training squad call-ups under Dave Rennie.He knows positive performances with the Rebels will do all the talking, hoping to impress in a dominant front row that includes the likes of Talakai, Pone Fa'amausili, Matt Gibbon and Cabous Eloff.“It’s quite well documented that position is wide open but I’ve got this outlook of trying not to look too far ahead,” he admits.“I’m not really focused on an end destination on where I want to be, more on the journey of every day being better. In turn, if I can stack up all those days of being a better athlete and person, in the end the boxes will tick themselves."  Click Here: Jadon Sancho jersey sale

According to Télénantes, an employee of FC Nantes has been taken into custody this week for the theft and trafficking of sports equipment belonging to the club – notably football shirts. The local television station also state that a second person was taken to the police station who was allegedly involved in the case has been released by officials.

Télénantes also said that the police are continuing their investigation and that other suspects should be heard soon by the investigators.

Whilst these matters are ongoing off the pitch, Nantes will host Lens on Sunday after having travelled an 8000km round-trip to Azerbaijan in mid-week to face Qarabag in the Europa League – losing the game by three goals to none. The Canaris are currently 15th in Ligue 1, having to deal with the excitement and exhaustion of European Competition which is yielding rathe inconsistent results on the domestic front. 

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George Boxall – GFFN Editor

According to Le Parisien Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Kheira Hamraoui is set to take part in training following the closure of the transfer window this evening. Manager Gérard Prêcheur has not yet indicated whether he will make use of Hamraoui in the next few matches, yet she will be made available to the Parisian coaching staff.

This follows news that ex-teamate Aminata Diallo was taken into custody for a second time in under a year, as part of the investigation into the assault on Hamraoui last November. Diallo was at the wheel of the car as Hamraoui was dragged out and hit on the legs with an iron bar, after they were going back from a team dinner. She was first held for 40 hours before being released with no charges.

The 27-year-old is now being held in temporary detention ahead of her appearance in front of a judge. Two out of the four men suspected of carrying out the attack have also been imprisoned. 

Having only had 8 hours to question Diallo given the lengthy custody she was under last time, investigators are said to have had several new pieces of information. Le Parisien claim that the testimonies of the four suspects who were previously arrested saw them explain that they were given the task of attacking Diallo so that she could no longer play football. The operation was reportedly given to them by a “mysterious intermediary”, who has yet to be identified but has been reportedly linked to Diallo. The objective was supposedly that Diallo could take Hamraoui’s place in the PSG and France midfield.

 

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According to L’Équipe Angers are considering the possibility of recruiting a medical’ joker’ signing after the serious injury to Loïs Diony and are thinking of Marseille striker Bamba Dieng.

Whilst it looked possible for Nice to sign Bamba Dieng as a ‘joker’ outside the transfer window, the deal fell through completely as Nice wanted to lower the price of the player, who failed his Nice medical on deadline day. 

Nice-Matin are reported late on transfer deadline day that Marseille forward failed his medical at OGC Nice. It is a dramatic twist in a day that saw the Senegalese forward coveted by the Riviera club and Premier League side Leeds United. 

According to Nice-Matin, Dieng “didn’t give satisfaction to the club’s management during his medical visit” and will therefore not sign for Lucien Favre’s side. 

Earlier in the day, Dieng had looked set for a move to England. Leeds United looked to have won the race for the forward, beating Ligue 1 side Lorient at the time with a €10m bid. However, Nice then outbid Leeds with a €12m offer, which also included a higher sell-on percentage. 

From a position where Dieng was set to fly to the UK to complete the deal, the pendulum swung towards Nice. Dieng then quickly agreed personal terms with Les Aiglons, before making the trip down the coast to Mediterranean rivals Nice. 

However, the deal collapsed at the final hurdle, with the failure of his medical ending his hopes of joining Favre’s side.

Dieng is out of favour at Marseille, and new manager Igor Tudor was keen to sell.

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Alexis Sánchez was left warming up for Marseille’s match against Angers with Bamba Dieng, who was back on the team sheet for the first time this season. They did not have the opportunity to team up on the pitch as the former Inter Milan player finally remained on the bench.

Tudor preferred to keep Sánchez, who had returned from international duty two days earlier and played two full friendlies with the team – against Morocco (0-2) and Qatar (2-2) – in the match. The Croatian coach intends to spare his 33-year-old striker when the circumstances are favourable, according to L’Équipe.

Tudor knew he would need him for Tuesday’s clash with Sporting Portugal, a match that is already crucial to OM’s Champions League survival.

After missing the first game at Tottenham through suspension and being very quiet for only an hour against Eintracht Frankfurt, Sánchez, who has made 65 appearances in the Champions League, has revenge to take. He has not scored in the European Cup for almost a year, having won a match with Inter against Sheriff Tiraspol (3-1 on 3 November 2021).

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In the absence of Reims’ first-team manager Óscar García, assistant manager Will Still took over the managerial duties for their encounter against Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday.

The herculean task in front of Still’s team narrowed its difficulty level in the 41st minute of the match when Sergio Ramos was given marching orders by the match referee for dissent.

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Despite showing loads of promise and taking 13 more shots than PSG, the hosts could not break the deadlock. Nevertheless, Still was found satisfied with their 0-0 draw against the defending Ligue 1 champions as he was quoted as saying (via L’Équipe):

“We started the match with the desire to be positive, to go forward, to embarrass Paris-Saint-Germain as high up the pitch as possible. I think that the intensity we put in and the control we had over this Paris team was very interesting. Any point against Paris is respected. OK, they were down to 10 men for a long period, but they are a team that can make individual differences.”

Paris Saint-Germain will have to wait to secure their place in the Champions League knockouts as Benfica again held them to a 1-1 draw, this time in Paris, at the end of a cagey affair which was somewhat overshadowed by Kylian Mbappé’s transfer status. The result and the performance though, were ostensibly affected by Lionel Messi’s absence, as the hosts continued to struggle going forward, as they did in the Argentine’s absence against Reims.

Neither side would carve out any clear-cut chances for much of the first half, with both defences holding firm up until Juan Bernat was brought down in the box, and a determined Kylian Mbappé tucked it away to open the scoring. Les Parisiens then looked visibly more comfortable, as evidenced by Neymar’s sombrero over Florentino.

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The forward, who became PSG’s all-time top goalscorer in the Champions League in the process, very much looked to have put to one side the claims that he had asked to leave in January, as reported earlier in the evening.

It wasn’t to be smooth sailing from here on though, as the second half saw PSG once again struggle to find the breakthrough and a needless foul from Marco Verratti in his own box was punished from the spot by João Mário for the visitors’ equaliser.

Mbappé looked to have scored the winner on a great volleyed finish five minutes from time, and capped off a rollercoaster of a day for him, but the strike was ruled out for offside. 

PSG player ratings

Gianluigi Donnarumma, 5

Sergio Ramos, 5

Marquinhos, 6 – The Brazilian with a solid performance which kept Gonçalo Ramos quiet and limited the visitors to scarcely any clear-cut opportunities. His work to prevent Julian Draxler on the break at the end of the match a crucial moment, while his precise passes from the back were crucial to a nonetheless stunted build-up play.

Danilo Pereira, 5

Achraf Hakimi, 4

Marco Verratti, 5 – A solid first half – notably creating the chance which led to Bernat winning the penalty – which was later overshadowed by the needless tackle to give away the spot-kick which led to Benfica’s equaliser in the second. His yellow card means he is suspended for the next fixture, against Maccabi Haifa.

Vitinha, 5

Juan Bernat, 5

Pablo Sarabia, 3 – Being Lionel Messi’s stand-in is obviously no easy task, but the Spaniard was consistently one step behind his attacking partners and offered very little. Messi’s absence to a calf injury has left the PSG attack directionless, and as talented as Sarabia is, stepping in to coordinate Neymar and Mbappé was a tall order.

Neymar, 6 – An ultimately ineffectual but active performance from the Brazilian, who found himself leading attacks forward with intent on more than one occasion but was ultimately victim to PSG’s disorganised, Messi-less fronline.

Kylian Mbappé, 6 – The most active of Paris Saint-Germain’s frontline but mostly missing his final touch. The World Cup winner opened the scoring from the spot and nearly sealed the win in the dying minutes with a great volley, which was eventually ruled out for offside.

Others: Fabián Ruiz (84′), Nordi Mukiele (84′), Carlos Soler (89′), Hugo Ekitike (73′)

This is the latest feature in our series counting down French football’s 20 hottest properties, those most likely to feature in elite clubs’ 2023 transfer plans. Look out for the next player tomorrow and follow the run down in full here on GFFN.

Houssem Aouar is arguably one of the most talented and technically gifted players in Ligue 1. As shown by iconic Champions League performances against Manchester City in 2020’s final eight to being one of Ligue 1’s more prolific goal-providing midfielders in recent seasons, the Lyon academy graduate’s quality is undeniable. However, after failed transfers, injuries and a fractious relationship with recently sacked Lyon manager Peter Bosz, the French international has been marginalised for much of this season. Still, his long-talked-about move may yet be on its way.

Despite starting Laurent Blanc’s first game in charge at OL, Aouar’s current situation will undoubtedly raise questions about his future with less than a year left on his contract. Many were surprised by the clubs the now 24-year-old was negotiating with this summer as promoted Premier League side Nottingham Forest and La Liga’s Real Betis become the most active suitors. Aouar has been linked with most of Europe’s elite clubs at some point and he’ll hope those teams return in search of his signature come January when he’s free to negotiate a pre-contract.

Despite a rocky season so far, Aouar would be a great acquisition for many around Europe, as Lyon’s tricky number eight offers a different dimension in midfield to most of his peers. It’s no secret his best football has been played in the final third, whether it be scoring or creating goals, and it’s where he’s often been a difference maker for OL. In 217 appearances for Les Gones, Aouar scored 40 goals and assisted a further 35, equating to a goal or an assist less than every three games on average.

It’s a record some forwards would be proud of and, if it could be translated to the Premier League, that ability to contribute would be helpful to clubs that lack midfield goals like Liverpool or Chelsea. However, Aouar has much to do to convince big English clubs he is worthy of their attention after minimal football so far this season. For now, it’s tough to assess interest but, looking at last season’s performances, there are certain aspects of the Frenchman’s game which make him a desirable asset.

One such skill is his influential progressive play. Besides fellow OL academy graduate Rayan Cherki, Aouar is one of the most active dribblers at Lyon, with 2.31 completed per 90 minutes while 2.4 players are beaten per 90 and 2.6 of his carries end in the final third. The numbers indicate he’s a useful dribbler and, at his best, the skilful, silky Aouar is a real threat with the ball at his feet, a useful asset for clubs requiring more spontaneous brilliance from their creative players.

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Also decisive and reliable when progressing play, Aouar is in the top 3% of all attacking midfielders in Europe when it comes to passes into the final third, with 4.62 per 90. This shows his quality in releasing the ball into dangerous areas paired with an ability to drive into the final third. However, his key pass figures aren’t as competitive for an attacking midfielder, showing that Aouar isn’t the usual natural number ten while heat maps show he naturally positions himself on the left of midfield.

However, the fact that Aouar can feature on the left side of a midfield three, out wide and as a number ten makes him a versatile weapon in a number of roles, capable of executing all at a high level. Aouar is best suited to possession-based teams with calm, calculated passing play as the Frenchman’s passing range often goes under the radar, boasting an ability to play intelligent balls over a varying range of distances to a high degree of accuracy.

Seen as a number ten, concerns will be raised over Aouar’s defensive intelligence or work rate when used in a deeper role. However, he’s an active presser and has a knack for winning the ball back in midfield, shown by an average of 3.17 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes last season. Aouar’s shooting is also often criticised, despite his decent scoring record for OL, and, if he were to move, it’s something that needs work. After almost 250 career games already, it’s often forgotten that Aouar is still just 24 and far from the finished article.

Aouar is a French international, a versatile and technical midfielder still progressing as a footballer and is undoubtedly effective in the final third. The main question is: Who wouldn’t want such a player? Although the underlying circumstances are more complicated, with Lyon struggling to sell the player in recent years, his overall form being inconsistent and even talk of an extension at OL, with such a versatile midfielder potentially available on a free transfer next summer, the list of clubs chasing his signature will only increase.

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Two of Ligue 1’s chasing pack will meet on Saturday evening in what could be a decisive clash near the top of the table as an in-form Lens side face Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome. Igor Tudor is hoping that last week’s loss in Le Classique against PSG doesn’t hang over his squad; and that a largely positive performance can serve as momentum coming into this fixture. For Lens, it’s all about continuing to win and extending a decent run of form which sees them with seven wins and three draws in 11 games.

Marseille’s double win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League created an air of European excitement around the club – but they were brought down to Earth by Ajaccio and then Paris Saint-Germain in quick succession in Ligue 1. This pattern of results is what makes Marseille – Lens such an interesting prospect: which OM will turn up on the day?

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This is also a clash between, arguably, two of the most entertaining sides in Ligue 1 this season. Under Franck Haise Lens have masterfully navigated the loss of key players such as Cheick Doucouré and indeed Marseille’s own wing-back Jonathan Clauss – and they have carried on being as expansive as ever, but are now finding the results and consistency to challenge for those podium places in Ligue 1. The swash-buckling passing style of Lens meets the bullish high-intensity pressing of Igor Tudor’s OM side. One thing is certain, the game won’t be short of personality.

Marseille will be without centre-back Eric Bailly after suffering a thigh injury against PSG at the Parc des Princes last week. In a similar vein, Samuel Gigot will also miss the match – serving the first of his two match suspension for his red card against the Parisian side. However, Sead Kolasinac will return to Tudor’s squad after spending most of October on the sidelines after sustaining an injury against Angers in September.

Meanwhile, for Lens Jimmy Cabot is expected to undergo surgery and looks to be out for the rest of the season – Przemysław Frankowski should be starting in his place. Johnathan Gradit returned to training, but won’t return until Lens’ match against Toulouse.

OM predicted lineup v Lens:

Lopez – Balerdi, Kaboré, Mbemba, – Clauss, Guendouzi, Rongier, Veretout, Tavares – Sánchez, Harit.

Lens predicted lineup v Marseille:

Samba – Danso, Medina, Haïdara – Frankowski, Abdul Samed, Fofana, Machado, – Sotoca, Da Costa.

George Boxall – GFFN