England veteran Ben Youngs dropped for Italy clash

Ben Youngs will miss out against Italy (Ben Whitley/PA)

England have dropped their most capped men’s player for Sunday’s clash with Italy after Ben Youngs was left out of a reduced training squad.

Youngs, 33, produced a disappointing performance off the bench in the Calcutta Cup defeat by Scotland that opened the Guinness Six Nations and has paid the price by losing his place to Alex Mitchell in the 29-man group that will step up preparations for the Azzurri showdown.