Ollie Sleightholme and Tom Willis have both been brought into the team to face France, after warmer conversations with Borthwick, who defended his decision to name both Smiths in the starting line-up for the first time. Ben Curry, however, was another victim of the ‘Borthwick Walk’ as he drops to the bench.

England coach Steve Borthwick has said he is excited to unleash the Fin Smith, Marcus Smith combination against France at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday.

England have made a bold selection shake-up for Saturday's Six Nations clash with France at Twickenham, with Marcus Smith moving to fullback and Fin Smith earning his first Test start at fly-half. The dramatic changes come as Steve Borthwick's side look to bounce back from their opening weekend defeat in Ireland.

England's bold positional experiments, the latest of which is deploying Marcus Smith at full-back, have sparked debate

Matthieu Jalibert will start at fly-half for France against England at Twickenham on Saturday in the absence of the suspended Romain Ntamack.