England have made one change to their starting XI for Saturday’s final game of the Six Nations, with Olly Chetham replacing Sam Underhill.
Underhill, like Marcus Smith, will make his 50th appearance for England off the bench.
Underhill made his debut against Argentina in 2017, while Smith made his first appearance for England in 2021 against America.
Manager Steve Borthwick had made significant changes following his side’s historic 23-18 defeat to Italy, making nine changes to his team in light of back-to-back defeats to Scotland and Ireland.
This was the biggest change England made during the Six Nations era.
However, Borthwick stuck to his guns this time, and with one switch Chetham moved into blindside flanker. With Tom Curry leaving the same position last week, Underhill moved from the bench to the starting lineup and was replaced by Chandler Cunningham-South.
England started with a win over Wales and will be looking to avoid a fourth consecutive Six Nations defeat against France, who are looking to bounce back from a 50-40 loss to Scotland.
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Sky Sports’ James Cole breaks down what went wrong for England heading into the final round of the Six Nations.
“It’s a big challenge to play against a very strong French team under the Paris lights,” Borthwick said.
“England versus France is one of the great rivalries in international rugby and we are looking forward to this opportunity.”
Commenting on Underhill and Smith’s milestones, Borthwick said: “Achieving 50 caps is a special achievement and reflects the consistency that Sam and Marcus have shown in an England shirt.”
“Both have worked extremely hard towards this milestone, and this is a credit to them and those who have supported them along the way.”
England national team plays against France
Starting XV: 15. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 75 caps), 14. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, 11 caps), 13. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 26 caps), 12. Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 3 caps), 11. Kaydan Murray (Harlequins, 5 caps), 10. Finsmith (Northampton Saints, 15 caps), 9. Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 17 caps), 1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 79 caps) – vice-captain, 2. Jamie George (Saracens, 109 caps) – vice-captain, 3. Joe Hayes (Leicester Tigers, 21 caps), 4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 101 caps) – Captain, 5. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 18 caps), 6. Ollie Chetham (Leicester Tigers, 34 caps), 7. Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby, 11 caps), 8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 50 caps)
Substitutes: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 57 caps), 17. Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 14 caps), 18. Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints, 7 caps), 19. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 21 caps), 20. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 49 caps), 21. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 9 caps), 22. Jacques van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 23 caps), 23. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 49 caps)
