Rugby

Fin Smith to start at fly-half for England against France

Head coach Steve Borthwick has made a total of five changes, two of them positional, for the Six Nations fixture at Allianz Stadium.

Marcus Smith (left) and Fin Smith (right) have been picked to start in England’s backline against France
Marcus Smith (left) and Fin Smith (right) have been picked to start in England’s backline against France (John Walton/PA)
By Duncan Bech, PA England Rugby Correspondent

England have united Fin Smith and Marcus Smith in their starting backline for the first time as they look to reignite their Guinness Six Nations title bid against France on Saturday.

Fin Smith will make his first appearance in the number 10 jersey after winning all seven of his caps as a replacement, with his namesake moving to full-back to accommodate the change at fly-half.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has made a total of five changes, two of them positional, for the round two fixture at Allianz Stadium.

Steve Borthwick has made five changes from the defeat to Ireland
Steve Borthwick has made five changes from the defeat to Ireland (Zac Goodwin/PA)

Ollie Sleightholme returns to the left wing after Cadan Murley was ruled out by a foot injury sustained in the 27-22 defeat by Ireland in Dublin last Saturday which could end his tournament.

Tom Willis makes his first start at number eight as part of a back row reshuffle that sees Ben Earl move to openside and Ben Curry drop to a bench bolstered by the return of veterans Jamie George and Elliot Daly.

England are already on the back foot in the Six Nations after fading out of contention in Dublin and are hoping that the Smiths operating in tandem will unleash their full potential against France.

Fin Smith is seen as a more strategic fly-half who can get the most out of his backline while Marcus Smith will be expected to provide a counter-attacking threat from deep.

The selection is a gamble, however, with aerial master Freddie Steward making way at full-back to potentially leave England exposed in the air.

Marcus Smith will be peppered with kicks by France and his experience in the position is still limited, with the experiment trialled for the first time at the 2023 World Cup and used only intermittently since.

Sleightholme was unfortunate to miss out on selection against Ireland after finishing the autumn in possession of the number 11 jersey but he now has the opportunity to add to an impressive strike rate of four tries in five Tests.

Willis has been a rampaging force on both sides of the ball for Saracens this season and he won his second cap off the bench in Dublin.

France opened the Six Nations with a 43-0 rout of Wales and are expected to continue their title bid by dispatching England.

England team: M Smith (Harlequins); T Freeman (Northampton Saints), O Lawrence (Bath Rugby), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), O Sleightholme (Northampton Saints); F Smith (Northampton Saints), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints); E Genge (Bristol Bears), L Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), W Stuart (Bath Rugby), M Itoje (Saracens), G Martin (Leicester Tigers), T Curry (Sale Sharks), B Earl (Saracens), T Willis (Saracens).

Replacements: J George (Saracens), F Baxter (Harlequins), J Heyes (Leicester Tigers), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers), C Cunningham-South (Harlequins), B Curry (Sale Sharks), H Randall (Bristol Bears), E Daly (Saracens).