Borthwick's England selection smacks of desperation – Andy Goode

Nobody can accuse Steve Borthwick of being timid but his team changes do suggest an air of desperation might be setting in.

England have lost six of their last seven Tests and only beaten Japan in the last 11 months since the win over Ireland that looked like it might be a seminal moment at the time but I don’t think moving your fly half is the answer.

Marcus Smith is capable of playing full back, and did well there in spells during the World Cup, but he’s a number 10 and issues have arisen in the past when he’s been taken off so I’d be giving him more control and empowering him rather than shifting him to full back.

It’s great to see Fin Smith get a first start and we won’t know whether he’s an international fly half until he’s had a run of starts but it’s hard to blame defeats on a lack of experience and then replace the player who is the fulcrum of your team and has 40 caps with someone who’s never started a Test before.

Both players are hugely talented and they might just dovetail perfectly, inspire the team to a memorable win over France and the rest will be history but it feels like a roll of the dice.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

1

Draws

0

Wins

4

Average Points scored

25

37

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

80%

Borthwick is inherently conservative in his nature but he has been bold in his selections at times. This is certainly a brave move but it looks to the outside world like a bit of a knee-jerk reaction after defeat in Dublin.

Freddie Steward has been in flying form for Leicester, has clearly worked on what he’s been asked to in attack and earned his starting spot back, albeit in the absence of George Furbank. He didn’t have a bad game against Ireland and is now out of the match day 23 altogether.

In theory, starting both Smiths does give England more creativity in attack but, going back to a point made over and over again in the Borthwick era and back further, that’s less of a personnel issue and more a case of allowing the players to take the handbrake off and play what’s in front of them rather than to a set pattern.

Too often England have picked square pegs in round holes and you could certainly argue that’s the case again this weekend. Ironically, France have kept Thomas Ramos at full back, rather than switching him to fly half, and brought in Matthieu Jalibert at number 10.

That’s a selection that most outside of the France camp would consider obvious in the absence of Romain Ntamack given how gifted Jalibert is and how good his form has been for Bordeaux but he hasn’t been trusted in the past and there was a falling out in the autumn.

England will target him defensively, where he isn’t as strong as Ntamack, but that French backline looks absolutely lethal from an attacking point of view and you have to say they’ll be glad that Steward isn’t there defensively.

Ollie Lawrence has been one of England’s leading lights of late, this is his 12^th consecutive start, and he and others will also look to attack Pierre-Louis Barassi in the 13 channel.

Clearly, he’s no mug and has started more often than not for the best club team in the world in Toulouse over the past few years but this is just his third Test start and he made his debut five years ago so it’s one of very few areas where France could be exposed.

It’s harsh on Ben Curry to drop out of the starting XV after things went well for most of the hour he was on the field last week but I think Tom Willis coming in is a horses for courses selection with the extra weight and power France have in their pack.

This is arguably the best and most balanced back row England can pick, with Ben Earl more of an openside despite the fact that he’s started the last 17 Tests at number eight, and Willis’ close quarter work will be crucial if his team are to stand a chance of winning.

He isn’t a massive bulldozer, he’s actually quite similar in stature and style to a certain extent to Gregory Alldritt, but he’s beaten more defenders and made more post contact metres than anyone else in the Premiership this season and he has to find a way to make those hard yards and get England on the front foot.

Gone are the days when you could look to run the France forwards around and just tire them out because of their sheer size, so if that’s the plan then England will be found wanting but you can get the better of them with intelligence and rugby nous.

It’s stating the obvious that the gainline battle and physical confrontation will be the most important aspect in deciding the outcome but behind that France look well drilled yet still able to play with a freedom and express themselves.

It helps when you have the world’s best player, and perhaps the greatest of all time, leading you around the park but that sense of having the shackles off is what England are really missing and I just don’t think moving Marcus Smith to full back solves that.

Five of England’s last six defeats have come by less than a converted try so Borthwick is right that they are close, I’d just argue that changing the most important position in the team is a seismic shift rather than a tweak to get them over the line.

The men in white need to rediscover a winning mentality somehow, whatever it takes, and this could turn out to be a masterstroke but it does have all the hallmarks of a desperate move in reaction to an opening round defeat.

The rot has to stop sometime but France put 53 points on England the last time they came to Allianz Stadium and beat Wales 43-0 last week. It’s hard to make the case that it will this weekend and I think France will win it by 15.