- Fin Smith has been handed his first Test start for England in the No 10 position
- England suffered a 27-22 defeat by Ireland in their Six Nations opener last week
England head coach Steve Borthwick has shaken things up ahead of the visit of France on Saturday.
Mail Sport revealed earlier this week that the England were set to unleash a new playmaker double act for Le Crunch, with Marcus Smith being relocated to full-back and Northampton rookie Fin smith filling the vacancy at No 10.
The Twickenham clash will be the 22-year-old’s eighth international cap but the first Test start for his country.
In all, Borthwick has made three changes to the side that suffered a 27-22 defeat by Ireland in their Six Nations opener last weekend.
In addition to Smith, wing Ollie Sleightholme and Tom Wallis came into the starting XV. Meanwhile, Freddie Steward has been cut from the 23-man squad entirely, while Elliot Daly provides three-quarter cover.
Former England skipper Jamie George returns to the squad after missing the Ireland clash with a hamstring injury. Furthermore, Ben Earl moves to openside flanker and Ben Curry drops to the replacements.
Steve Borthwick has made three changes to the starting XV that suffered defeat in England’s Six Nations opener
Having lined up at fly-half against Ireland, Marcus Smith will play full back against France
Northampton’s Fin Smith has been handed his first Test start for the visit of France on Saturday
The heat is on, going into round two of this year’s championship. England conceded 22 unanswered points in Dublin on the way to losing 27-22 against the title-holding Irish. It was a seventh defeat in their last nine Tests, leaving the team and the entire regime under mounting pressure.
Borthwick has spoken about the need for selection stability, to generate precious cohesion. He has also lamented his side’s relative lack of caps compared to some of their leading rivals.
ENGLAND team to play France at Twickenham on Saturday: M Smith (Harlequins); T Freeman (Northampton), O Lawrence (Bath), H Slade (Exeter), O Sleightholme (Northampton); F Smith (Northampton), A Mitchell (Northampton); E Genge (Bristol), L Cowan-Dickie (Sale), W Stuart (Bath); M Itoje (Saracens. capt), G Martin (Leicester); T Curry (Sale), T Willis (Saracens), B Earl (Saracens). Replacements: J George (Saracens), F Baxter (Harlequins), J Heyes (Leicester), O Chessum (Leicester), C Cunningham-South (Harlequins), B Curry (Sale), H Randall (Bristol), E Daly (Saracens).
