‘Tough and brave’ Fin Smith backed to star on first England start against France

Fin Smith has been backed to take the fight to France after Steve Borthwick declared that England’s new fly-half has the defensive steel to match his silky skills.

For the first time Borthwick has picked his two most prominent playmakers in the same backline with Fin Smith making his first start in the number 10 jersey and Marcus Smith replacing Freddie Steward at full-back.

England are already on the back foot in the Guinness Six Nations after falling 27-22 to Ireland in round one and are hoping that the Smiths operating in tandem will unleash their full potential in attack for the visit of France.

All seven of Fin Smith’s previous Test appearances have come off the bench but Borthwick insists the hard tackling 22-year-old is ready to take centre stage at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

“Earlier this season he made 30 tackles in a game for Northampton. It tells you a lot about his personality – he’s tough and he’s brave.

“When players see a fly-half willing to defend like that, they have immense respect for him.

“We can talk all about his different skills, and he certainly has those because he’s an elite player, but he’s also a very tough, brave young man.”

England’s depth at fly-half, which includes the overlooked George Ford, means that Marcus Smith must fill his less preferred position of full-back where he has appeared several times in cameos of varying lengths since he was first tested there at the 2023 World Cup.

The Harlequins ringmaster’s attacking repertoire is seen as too valuable to lose, even if his inclusion ahead of towering high-ball master Steward has the potential to expose England in the air.

“If you give Marcus time and space, he can hurt the opposition. He’s a game-changer. He’s a player who can do things very few of the players in the world can do,” Borthwick said.

“Whether he starts with number 10 or number 15 on his back, nothing changes – I want those natural instincts on the pitch.

“He sees space that other players don’t. He has an ability to find gaps in defences that most people don’t know are there. And that’s exactly what I want him to bring this weekend.”

Ollie Sleightholme returns to the left wing after Cadan Murley was ruled out by a foot injury sustained in Dublin last Saturday and 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.

George missed the opening game of the tournament because of a hamstring strain but is now set to make his first appearance since being replaced as captain by Maro Itoje.

In a surprise development, it has emerged that Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has opted against undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder and could return in time for the closing stages of the Six Nations.

It had been announced that he would have an operation and therefore miss the entire tournament.

“There’s a possibility he’ll be back before the end of the Six Nations and I’d love him to be back,” Borthwick said.

“The timescales are a little bit unclear and it depends how things progress, but he’s going well so far.”