Six Nations: Haskell retains starting berth as Palmer's stature continues to grow

Stade Francais duo James Haskell and Tom Palmer both retained their starting positions in the England XV to play Italy at Twickenham on Saturday.

Palmer has become the bedrock of the England second row was never in doubt of missing out, but Haskell's inclusion is reward for a good Championship opener against Wales as he was preferred to Hendre Fourie.

Fit-again Fourie is a specialist open-side flanker, but Haskell's impressive performance in Cardiff persuaded England manager Martin Johnson to name an unchanged starting XV against Italy. Fourie does make the match-day 22, however, displacing Wasps' Joe Worsley.

Toby Flood has cemented his fly-half position position for now with a Man-of-the-Match display against Wales, meaning more subs duty for Toulon's Jonny Wilkinson.

Johnson has also shown faith to centre Shontayne Hape and laid out his team's aims in typically forthright fashion.

"We're here to win Test matches, let's make no bones about that. We know what they're about. They're a good team and a real challenge," he said.

England forwards coach John Wells, meanwhile, described Palmer this week as "near enough the compete forward in the modern game".

The Stade Francais star was first capped by England 10 years ago, but only consolidated his position after impressing during last summer's tour Down Under. Since then he has become increasingly integral to the team set-up and is now in charge of lineout calls.

Wells went on to tell BBC Sport: "We want to put tempo on the ball and try to get it into the wider spaces. We need forwards of that mobility to play the game we want and Tom falls into that category."

Palmer recently credited his move to Stade Francais for developing his game - food for thought for all those at the RFU who appear blinded by the benefits of players signing for Top 14 clubs.

Italy arrive at Twickenham after narrowly missing out on home victory against Ireland last weekend, when only a last-ditch drop-goal from Ronan O'Gara denied the Azzuri a cherished victory.

They will be led once more by Sergio Parisse, Haskell's back-row colleague at Stade Francais, while there are seven France-based players overall in their 22-man squad.

Clermont Auvergne's Gonzalo Canale starts at outside centre, with Racing-Métro duo Andrea Masi and Mirco Bergamasco providing the pace on the wings. Two more Racing players are on the bench - Andrea Lo Cicero and Santiago Dellape - while Brive's Luciano Orquera is named at fly-half.

Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Date: Saturday, February 12th 2011
KO: 14.30
Referee: Tony Redmond (Ireland)