"Can he start tomorrow?" - Steve Borthwick confirms Richard Cockerill replacement

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According to The Rugby Paper, he made the Saracens man his number one target when he took over from Eddie Jones in December and made his move when Cockerill accepted a job with Top 14 outfit Montpellier.

The former Newcastle Falcons forward has been involved with the national age-grade side for two years, firstly as an assistant, and won the Junior World Championship in successive years (2013 and 2014) as well as reaching the 2015 final.

He also led England to the 2015 U20 Six Nations title having finished runners-up the season before.

Peel, alongside Alex Sanderson and Joe Shaw, headed to New Zealand in 2017 to further develop their knowledge and his set-piece defence ideas were used by Super Rugby franchise Crusaders in their final victory over the Lions.

Set-piece is a key part of Saracens’ game and Peel has been instrumental in the club’s success at the line-out and scrum time.

As a player, Peel made 122 Premiership appearances for Newcastle going on to coach the Falcons’ Academy side in his first position away from the field. He also had stints with National One side Tynedale and at Sedbergh School and Barnard Castle – both renowned rugby schools that have produced a number of England internationals.

Evening Standard 4/10: "Failed to take control at the base of the ruck in a messy performance."

Telegraph 3/10: "His job was to quicken the tempo but instead presided over a slow ruck and shanked a horrible box kick. Was hauled off for Mitchell minutes into the second half."

Rugby Pass 4/10: "Very much a case of master and the apprentice, the rookie England scrum-half getting schooled by his oppsite number Dupont. Gone on 46 and not before time."

Planet Rugby 3/10: "He was taken off just six minutes after half-time, and Borthwick would not have been blamed for doing it before then. The French pack put him under immense pressure, but he also made a few daft decisions on attack and made silly errors."

Mail Online 3/10: "Too ponderous from base and replaced early in second half."

Replacement: Alex Mitchell

Telegraph 5/10: "A promotion too soon? Probably. Solid enough in front of the uprights but gifted too many kicks to the waiting arms of Ramos and struggled to manipulate space."

Rugby Pass 3.5/10: "Looked confused from the off, disorientation summed up by his head-scratching punt after England win a free at a scrum. That gave the French a soft mark to clear from their 22. His puzzled effort continued right the way through on a miserable evening capped by that gaffe of not touching down behind his line, allowing Ollivon to burgle his second try."

Planet Rugby 3/10: " Outplayed, couldn’t get the attack ticking over. The effort was there in so many instances, but it just wasn’t his night. Given the chance to swim with Owen Farrell on the bench but Smith just sunk."

Mail Online 4/10: "Different player in an England shirt from the one who runs it for Quins."

Replacement: Owen Farrell

Telegraph 4/10: "Got caught out of position for France’s opener. Never really alleviated any of the kick pressure off Smith. Made way for Farrell earlier than he would have liked."

Rugby Pass 3.5/10: "No one could quibble that he didn’t deserve his place, but he was blown away here and hooked on 46 for Farrell. His display was summed up by how he was roadkill as Flament blasted over for his first try."

Planet Rugby 2/10: "Slade was sloppy with ball in hand and didn’t make use of his boot, either."

Replacement: Joe Marchant

Telegraph 4/10: "Had a poor first half, leaking three penalties and blotted his report card by missing a few tackles. Packed down better after the break."

Rugby Pass 4/10: "Caught in first-half penalty trouble away from the set-piece, conceding three. Another taken off on 65 with the result long since decided."

Planet Rugby 2/10: "He may have won a penalty or two but five missed tackles and three penalties conceded makes for dreadful reading."

Replacement: Dan Cole

Telegraph 5/10: "Hardly his sharpest performance. Spilled the ball as England looked to counter after fine work from Smith, which led to Ollivon’s try."

Rugby Pass 3.5/10: "Took the guts of 35 minutes for him to finally carry the ball but was soon giving away a meek knock-on that sucked whatever enthusiasm was left from home fans. An awful day ended with Penaud leaving him for dead for the first of his late tries."

Planet Rugby 3/10: "He had some success with his carries but not enough to steer his team into the game. He made his tackles for most of the game until asked to defend on the wing. In the end, he was part of the pack that was well and truly on the back foot."

Evening Standard 4/10: "Must have hated being moved to outside centre, but had struggled earlier in any case."

Mail Online 4/10: "Best England game in Cardiff but miles off it and handed ball over."

Replacement: Sam Simmonds