Jamie George on what unfamiliar England XV need against France

England co-captain Jamie George is hoping for “cohesion” from an unfamiliar line-up when France visit Twickenham in Saturday’s non-cap international.

There are five uncapped names in Steve Borthwick’s squad with three set to start the game, as call-ups to Andy Farrell’s Lions side for Friday’s meeting with Argentina in Dublin have left the head coach an experimental group to work with.

The late addition of Jack van Poortvliet to the Lions side means there will be 14 players unavailable to Borthwick when England run out for the final time ahead of the summer tour to Argentina and the United States.

Damian De Allende speaks about his love for Cape Town and the Stormers

Damian De Allende speaks about his love for Cape Town and the Stormers

“We’re not overly cohesive in terms of the amount of games we’ve played together so first and foremost it’s about getting on the same page,” said hooker George, the 101-cap veteran who will lead the side alongside number 10 George Ford.

“One of the many things that Steve does very well is identifying exactly the sort of game we want to play. It massively helps having someone like George and the guys that have been there and done that, and are world-class operators.

“The way that you get cohesion is by doing exactly what the team needs at that moment in time. Once you get the clarity you can free yourself up and play, whether you’ve had 99 games or one.”

Amongst those set to start at Twickenham are Bath flanker Guy Pepper, fresh from a man of the match display in Saturday’s Premiership final, and Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson. Sale full-back Joe Carpenter will also start.

“For us it’s the start of our summer tour, it’s not a game in isolation,” said Ford, another experienced hand with 99 caps. “We’re expecting a tough, talented French team to come as well.

“There’s a lot of new lads in, a lot of young lads. This is an opportunity for all of us, even though it’s not a cap game.

“Its an opportunity for us to get as cohesive as possible leading into the next few games. We’re taking it like any other game.”