Andrew Sheridan out in last minute injury change
Andrew Sheridan has been pulled out of England’s RBS Six Nations clash on Saturday versus Italy due to a back injury. American-born Alex Corbisero, of London Irish, will make his debut at prop, leapfrogging David Wilson who will remain on the bench. Along with Leicester’s Dan Cole, the English front row will be one of the youngest and inexperienced ever fielded; Martin Johnson, however, believes the duo’s premiership experience will allow them to hold their own. Up front, Cole will be hoping Corbisero can get one over Cole’s Leicester teammate, the hairy Martin Castrogiovanni.
Barring Sheridan’s change, Johnson has named the same XV that beat Wales last Friday night, opting to keep James Haskell at 7 despite the return of injured Hendrie Fourie. Fourie will replace Worsley on the bench after playing 40 minutes for club Leeds last weekend; Johnson will look to utilize Fourie’s ball hawking skills and breakdown late on in the game as the Italians tire.
The back line stays the same and Mike Tindall retains the captaincy as England will look to recapture the energy they played with on Friday night. Italy were forced through injury to replace young scrum half Eduardo Gori with Fabio Semenzato, a debutant, and opted to start Luciano Orquera, who’s energy at stand off spurred on Italy’s go ahead try in Rome versus Ireland.
