‘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.

A post shared by Fin Smith (@finsmithh)

“Fin’s distribution skills are excellent and his kicking game is very, very accurate,” head coach Borthwick said.

“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.

Tom Willis and Fin Smith have both been named in the starting line-up for the first time this weekend