"Start Marcus Smith?" - Predicting Steve Borthwick's England Team to Play France in 2024 Six Nations Finale

England have battled to be in this position, and come into the match against Les Bleus off the back of a monumental victory over Ireland. The exhilarating contest was decided in the final play of the match, as Marcus Smith put boot to ball for a match-winning drop goal that secured the 23-22 score-line, and sent Twickenham into a frenzy.

The roof erupted off the stadium known as 'HQ', as the heavily favoured Irish were felled, and had their ambitions of back-to-back Grand Slams nullified by England.

Now, Ireland are still the masters of their own destiny, as Andy Farrell's men take on Scotland, in the second match of 'Super Saturday'. A win for Ireland would be enough to seal the Six Nations title, given their previous bonus point wins against Italy, Wales and France. However, should Gregor Townsend's Scots achieve an underdog victory, then it opens up the playing field for the final match of the tournament.

France vs England could well decide the winner of the entire competition, and Steve Borthwick will be looking to select his strongest side for the battle with Les Bleus. England are set to host a media event tomorrow, which will clear up the eligibility for the players that picked up injuries in the win against Ireland. So, with the match day squad set to be confirmed on Thursday, we have once again made our predictions as to who the England head coach will pick for the match.

Here is our predictions for the England side that Steve Borthwick will select, for the 2024 Six Nations finale against France.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. Steve Borthwick looks to have found his trio of talents for the back-three, as George Furbank, Tommy Freeman and Manny Feyi-Waboso were all in stunning form against Ireland. We expect to see an unchanged back three, yet have planted an asterisk next to Tommy Freeman after the Northampton man received brief medical treatment in the latter stages at Twickenham.

Beginning with Furbank, the Saints man has made a blistering return to the England set-up and we expect to see him retain his starting spot at fullback. Prior to being called-up by Borthwick, Furbank's international hiatus dated back to England's 2022 Six Nations defeat to France, with the 27-year-old now searching for redemption against Fabien Galthie's side this weekend.

Furbank marked his England return with a try in the early goings against Scotland, before he then added a pivotal try to close the gap on Ireland. A stunning fullback in brilliant form, it took a lot to supersede Freddie Steward, but Furbank looks to have the answers for the time being. Moving on to his Northampton teammate, and should Tommy Freeman be able to shake off the heavy knock he took against Ireland, we can see no replacement for the wing for the Six Nations' curtain caller.

Should Freeman be ruled out, we expect to see Elliot Daly make a return to the starting team and shuffle the deck to put Manny Feyi-Waboso on the right wing. There can be no replacing the Exeter Chiefs man, as Feyi-Waboso ran out a brilliant showing in his first England start. Having balanced a crucial medicine exam on the run up to the match, Feyi-Waboso impressed all onlookers with a clinic of attacking rugby, and schooled the Irish defenders with some neat footwork upon the wide channels.

We move on to an area of contemplation for Borthwick this weekend, after resident outside centre Henry Slade was withdrawn from the Ireland match after aggravating an injury. There is no denying the Exeter chemistry that Slade brings Feyi-Waboso upon the 13-14 defensive axis, yet Borthwick may have to deploy a new tactic if his go-to midfielder is out of the fray for France.

The England head coach spoke after the match about Slade's injury and why the playmaker was pulled out of the action; "I haven’t had a medical report. Sladey (Henry Slade) took a bang in Scotland and worked really hard to recover from it and took a knock today. I don’t know if it’s related and that’s why he came off."

Should Slade fail to return, we predict to see Fraser Dingwall re-take the 12 jersey, and push Ollie Lawrence along to outside centre. Dingwall started at inside centre for England's two wins against Italy and Wales, yet has not featured in Borthwick's plans since the return of Lawrence, who was preferred to take on Scotland. Lawrence has plentiful experience of covering at 13, having started in the shirt for Bath this season, and played in the position against Fiji ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

Lawrence returned to his top form, after a rocky performance in the defeat to Scotland. The centre crossed over for a try against Ireland, and could well have had a second on the score-board, had it not been for the earlier knock-on from Furbank. The Manu Tuilagi debate then emerges once again, yet the Sale Sharks man has not been selected throughout the entire tournament, despite reports that he is in fact fully fit for contention, which raises questions on whether Borthwick really has any plans for the centre.

Moving on into the halfbacks, and we could well see a change-up after an unforgettable few moments courtesy of Marcus Smith. The Harlequin received an immense ovation when he ran onto the pitch, as he replaced George Ford to steer England to victory in the latter stages. This reaction was only surpassed when Smith slotted the winning drop goal, as the roof nearly came off a frenzied Twickenham Stadium.

Coupling this selection, is the factor that Ford had an underwhelming performance against Ireland from his high standards. The Sale Sharks man was wayward from the tee, as he failed to convert George Furbank's try and sent a couple penalty attempts off the mark. The argument remains as to whether Smith is best utilised from the bench for England, as there was no denying the electric tempo lift he brought upon his involvement.

England could well utilise his scintillating skillset from the off against France. Les Bleus like to also utilise the 'jouer' style in their attack, and Smith's selection could fight flair with flair, as apposed to a more regimented approach under Ford's lead. We have opted for Alex Mitchell to retain his scrum-half spot, after a strong outing against Ireland. We put Danny Care on the bench, who could well make his 101st cap after racking up the century in the win over Andy Farrell's men.

Once again, we believe that the best option for England going into the final round of the Six Nations is to retain their starting and replacement front row. Permitting that Ellis Genge, Jamie George and Dan Cole remain match fit throughout the week, they are likely to keep their places in the starting XV. George is Borthwick's most straight-forward selection from the entire squad, given his ability to rally his side to return to winning form, against no less than the number two ranked side in the world.

Ellis Genge and Joe Marler have been neck-and-neck for the starting spot, yet there was no denying the impact that Marler had from the bench. The Harlequin is arguably England's best scrummaging option, and was pivotal in maintaining his side's consistency up-front against Finlay Bealham and Cian Healy. We've opted for Genge to start, under the orders of emptying the tank through early breaks, and embody the rampaging monikered 'Baby Rhino' that England fans know that he can be.

Age proves to have no impact on Dan Cole, who continues to keep hold of the England three shirt. The Leicester Tigers man put in a solid effort up front, and neutralised the power game of Andrew Porter when the two sides packed down at scrum-time. Cole chewed up the hard yards in the loose, and grafted for the yards when he got his hands on the ball. Will Stuart can wait on the touch-line for an inclusion around the 55 minute mark, with the Bath man equally adept to bring the forwards battle home, and will be chomping at the bit for a run-on.

Moving on into the engine room, we expect to see the two starting locks return from the Ireland win. Maro Itoje orchestrated the game-plan at the line-out, and impressed the Twickenham faithful with a relentless work rate in defence. The Saracen continues his run as vice-captain, and formed a new partnership with George Martin against the Irish workhorses. Martin replaced his Leicester Tigers teammate in the row, as Ollie Chessum was bumped out to the blindside flank for last weekend's win.

Martin was the runner-up to the Player of the Match award behind Ben Earl, as he tackled anything that moved in Saturday's battle. The back-row is a man of few words according to his teammates, but he certainly let his actions do the talking with countless chop tackles and heavy impacts at the break-down. The lock battled well and nullified the powerful carries of Bundee Aki, and cemented his name to start against France in our eyes.

There will be an alteration to the England back-row, with Chandler Cunningham-South confirmed to be out of the squad for the final round of the tournament. The Harlequin picked up a calf injury after a series of fury-fuelled carries, and has been replacement by Newcastle back-row Guy Pepper. However, we do not expect the Falcon to make his England debut, and Borthwick will likely refer to his formerly capped back-row Ethan Roots.

After picking up an injury against Ireland, we expect Ollie Chessum to miss out on the starting line-up, after moving to the blindside flank against Ireland. In an eeiry sense of deja vu, Chessum could once again miss out the final round of the Championship, after being one of the top performers for Borthwick's side in the campaign.

The Exeter Chiefs back-row had an inspired start to his England career, as he stormed to a Player of the Match performance in the win against Italy. We can see Roots making his return to the squad, after being dropped from the latest round of the Six Nations. Sam Underhill is likely to once again start on the England openside, as the blue, black and white battler has made the shirt his own throughout the ongoing campaign.

Wrapping up our starting line-up is Ben Earl, who has been in undeniable form at the back of the England scrum. With an impressive adaptability to play at both number eight and on the flank, Earl covered for Underhill upon the Bath man's exit, with Alex Dombrandt running on as the replacement. Earl has been phenomenal during the campaign, and is the first man on the team-sheet in the eyes of England fans and pundits alike.

21. Danny Care (Harlequins)

*Elliot Daly for Tommy Freeman

*Henry Slade for Fraser Dingwall and then swap with Ollie Lawrence