Chiefs quartet prep for third round of the Nations Championship

Exeter Chiefs will be represented across the England and Italy squads in this weekend's third round action in the Nations Championship.

In the aftermath of the same fixture at the football World Cup, Steve Borthwick’s England take on Argentina on Saturday evening in Santiago del Estero.

Having both scored tries in last weekend’s 73-8 victory over Fiji, both Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Henry Slade retain their starting places in a side which includes Ben Spencer and the uncapped Emmanuel Iyogun on the bench.

Borthwick said: “We’re excited by the challenge of playing Los Pumas in Santiago del Estero. We expect a fantastic atmosphere with passionate home support. It promises to be a great occasion, and one the players are excited to embrace.”

Meanwhile, Italy will face Australia in Perth for their third round match on Saturday afternoon. A Wallabies side which includes former Chiefs centre Len Ikitau prepares to meet an Azzurri side with Ross Vintcent in the starting back-row and Andrea Zambonin on the bench.

Both teams suffered losses last weekend, the Wallabies to France and Italy to the All Blacks, so will be looking to conclude this first block of the new competition on a strong footing.

England:

15. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 52 caps)

14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 29 caps)

13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 76 caps)

12. Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 6 caps)

11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, 15 caps)

10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 18 caps)

9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 26 caps)

1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 82 caps) – vice-captain

2. Jamie George (Saracens, 112 caps) – captain

3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 24 caps)

4. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 21 caps)

5. George Martin (Saracens, 23 caps)

6. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 37 caps) – vice-captain

7. Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 14 caps)

8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 53 caps)

Replacements:

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 60 caps)

17. Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints, uncapped)

18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks, 8 caps)

19. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 70 caps)

20. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 12 caps)

21. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby 18 caps)

22. Benhard Janse van Rensburg (Bristol Bears, 1 cap)

23. Noah Caluori (Saracens, 1 cap)

Italy:

15 Lorenzo PANI (Zebre Parma, 13 caps)

14 Louis LYNAGH (Benetton Rugby, 15 caps)

13 Juan Ignacio BREX (Toulon, 54 caps)

12 Paolo ODOGWU (Benetton Rugby, 9 caps)

11 Monty IOANE (Lione, 48 caps)

10 Paolo GARBISI (Perpignan, 56 caps)

9 Alessandro GARBISI (Benetton Rugby, 24 caps)

8 Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 20 caps)

7 Michele LAMARO (Benetton Rugby, 56 caps) – capitano

6 Riccardo FAVRETTO (Benetton Rugby, 15 caps)

5 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 73 caps)

4 Giulio MARINI (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)

3 Marco RICCIONI (Perpignan, 38 caps)

2 Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Toulon, 35 caps)

1 Muhamed HASA (Zebre Parma, 10 caps)

Replacements:

16 Pablo DIMCHEFF (Colomiers Rugby, 4 caps)

17 Danilo FISCHETTI (Northampton Saints 65 caps)

18 Ion NECULAI (Zebre Parma, 3 caps)

19 Andrea ZAMBONIN (Exeter Chiefs, 20 caps)

20 Alessandro ORTOMBINA (Zebre Parma, 1 cap)

21 Alessandro FUSCO (Zebre Parma, 26 caps)

22 Giacomo DA RE (Zebre Parma, 6 caps)

23 Leonardo MARIN (Benetton Rugby, 24 caps)