FORMER Worcester Warriors centre Ollie Lawrence will start for England in their round two Six Nations clash with Italy at Twickenham on Sunday.

Having sat on the bench for the majority of the 29-23 defeat to Scotland at Twickenham last Saturday, Lawrence comes into a new-look midfield for Steve Borthwick's men.

Lawrence, who now plays for Bath in the Gallagher Premiership, will partner Henry Slade in the midfield against the Azzurri.

They are two of just three changes to the team that lost to the Scots, with Jack Willis coming in for Ben Curry at openside flanker. 

Italy pushed France all the way in Rome last weekend, so come into the clash full of confidence, although they have never beaten England before. 

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."