England add two forwards to their Six Nations squad to take on Italy

England boss Eddie Jones has made two changes to his 28-man squad to face Italy next Saturday in round two of the Guinness Six Nations. Off the pace last weekend, the defending champions were spectacularly ambushed by Scotland at Twickenham. 

Jones claimed in the aftermath that it was a loss which England could never atone for. Nevertheless, he has taken remedial action following the setback, making two changes ahead of their next outing versus the Azzurri. A statement from the RFU on Tuesday morning read: "Eddie Jones has made two changes to his England squad for the 2021 Guinness Six Nations.

"Kyle Sinckler and Mako Vunipola have joined the 28-player tournament squad, as England prepare for Saturday’s game against Italy at Twickenham Stadium (2.15pm KO). Harry Williams and Tom West have returned to their clubs."

England had been heavily backed last Saturday to open their 2021 title defence in winning fashion against an opposition that had not won a match at Twickenham since 1983.

However they failed to fire against the Scots and Jones was irritable in the aftermath when quizzed on his team's failings, his snappy answers including ‘everyone is a good selector after the game’, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about mate’, and ‘I think I just gave the explanation’.

“You never atone for a game like this, this stays with you for a long time. The most important thing is we get together, we find a way to improve our performance, play like England does against Italy next week," added Jones, who is set to hold a media conference on Tuesday evening.

Sinckler was banned last month for aggressively swearing at a referee during Bristol's Gallagher Premiership win over Exeter (he went on to deliver some riveting evidence at his independent disciplinary hearing), while Vunipola has been rehabbing an achilles injury since last playing for England in the November win over Wales in the Autumn Nations Cup.