Prediction: Steve Borthwick's England team to play France in 2025 Six Nations

England sit at fourth in the table at the end of round one, having grabbed a losing bonus point in Ireland. The two last ditch tries from Tommy Freeman and Tom Curry could well prove valuable towards the latter stages of the competition, as Ireland had a rare lapse of concentration towards the end of proceedings. France on the other hand, could not have wished for a hotter start to their campaign, as they decimated Wales with a 43-0 drubbing in the Stade de France.

France took all five points from the fixture, and dutifully sit at the top of the tree after the opening weekend. England have the opportunity to fire back this weekend, in their second consecutive Test match with a Six Nations tournament favourite. Borthwick has only made one change to his training squad after returning from the Emerald Isle, as wing Cadan Murley sustained an injury upon his try-scoring England debut. Murley has been ruled for out for at least the next two weeks, with the Harlequin replaced by his London Premiership club rival, in Saracens' Alex Lozowski.

There is a lot of speculation that England are set to unleash a new-look back line this weekend, with noteable changes in the 10 and 15 shirts 'leaked' earlier this week. With the rumours taken into consideration, here is the England team that we predict Steve Borthwick will pick, for the second round of the 2025 Guinness Men's Six Nations.

Right from the off, there is a high profile alteration taking place in England's starting XV, with the expectation being that Marcus Smith will start at fullback for the second round of the tournament. Borthwick has had to go back to the drawing board for his 15 jersey in the 2025 Six Nations, with his regular fullback George Furbank ruled out of the tournament through injury.

Borthwick brought in Freddie Steward for the opening round in Dublin, yet the latest reports from the rumour mill indicate Smith returning to the 15 shirt. Ahead of the tournament, Borthwick addressed the possibility of Smith running out at fullback, in what would be only the fifth time in the Harlequin's career. We've opted for the Northampton Saints pairing of Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme to occupy the wings, despite the 'leaked XV' from Mail Online naming Freddie Steward upon the left wing.

England's selectors will be surveying the squad for Cadan Murley's replacement, with Sleightholme presenting the most 'like-for-like' replacement as a wing option. Borthwick needs a win to keep England's Six Nations hopes alive, and could well rely upon Sleightholme's familiarity with Freeman to set a solid Saints foundation in the back three. We've named Steward upon the bench, with his introduction either moving Marcus Smith back to fly half, or as a covering option for either of the Saints flyers out wide.

It is hard to think of fresh ideas for England's midfield, with the 12 and 13 shirts looking to be secured in the hands of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade for the meantime. Lawrence's Bath teammate Max Ojomoh comes in as a close contender, as does Northampton's Fraser Dingwall, who starred as captain for England A in their latest Autumn win over Australia A.

However, we can't see Borthwick differing from his tried and tested midfield partnership for the battle with Les Bleus. Slade and Lawrence had traded the inside and outside centre spots in recent England appearances, yet their names have remained as mainstays upon the starting XV throughout the past year. Neither Ojomah or Dingwall make their way to the bench for our predicted match day 23, with Borthwick cemented in his centres for the 2025 Six Nations.

Perhaps if Slade or Lawrence get the call to go on the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, then the door may open for Ojomoh, Dingwall or perhaps even the Harlequins duo of Oscar Beard and Luke Northmore to get involved in the Test match action. England travel out to Argentina and the United States for a three match cross continental Summer series, whilst Andy Farrell leads the Lions 'down under', and this could well provide the platform for fresh faces in the 12 and 13 channels.

Another area of the England back-line that looks set for a reshuffle, Northampton Saints fly half Fin Smith is rumoured to be starting for Borthwick's side on Saturday. Smith has earned six England caps, since the halfback made his debut off the bench in Rome in the first match of the 2024 Six Nations, and has been steadily biding his time for a maiden start in the famous 10 jersey.

Borthwick has long been urged by England fans to pull to proverbial trigger on Fin Smith, with the highly rated Saints man set to bring a breath of fresh air to the selection saga. Throughout the Autumn Nations the 10 shirt was dominated by Marcus Smith, with George Ford's time on the pitch decreasing with each passing week, despite his status as one of England's finest ever fly halves. We've backed the Sale man for a seat on the subs bench this week, after missing out on the match day 23 for the opening round in Ireland.

Should Smith get the nod to start at fly half, then we expect Alex Mitchell to also be on hand to ease his Saints teammate into the spotlight. Mitchell and Fin Smith know each other on a telepathic level, thanks to their time together in green, black and gold, and Borthwick could well tap into the East Midlands mindset for greater fluidity on the front foot. Mitchell has a tough day in store against France, as he heads up against Antoine Dupont in the positional battle. The Saints man will have plenty of responsibility to deliver in both attack and defence in round two, yet we back Borthwick's first choice nine to deliver.

Moving onto the forward pack, and former England captain Jamie George is back in camp ahead of the second round of the Six Nations. The Saracen is expected to start against France, in what will be his first game back in the squad since losing the captaincy to his North London club mate Maro Itoje. George is likely coming in at the top of the hooker's pecking order, with Luke Cowan-Dickie taking a seat on the bench, with no place in the match day squad this time for Theo Dan.

Ellis Genge and Will Stuart are expected to retain their places in the starting XV, as the Bristol and Bath men are seen as Borthwick's favoured props for the campaign. Should the pair keep injury free throughout the week, then there is no immediate reason as to why Borthwick would alternate from Genge and Stuart. Asher Opoku-Fordjour is again predicted to miss out, with Harlequins loose-head Fin Baxter and Leicester tight-head Joe Heyes the front-runners to take the 17 and 18 shirts on the subs bench.

Once again with authority, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' The lock partnership of Maro Itoje and George Martin could well lead England all the way to the end of the Six Nations, should both of the hard hitting second rows avoid any untimely injuries between now and the trip to Cardiff in the middle of March. Itoje has only elevated his game since being named England captain, with the lock commanding his squad as one of Borthwick's best players in the defeat in Dublin.

Martin continues his trademark form as a heat-seeking missile with no regard for his own well being. The Tigers man enters an unstoppable mindset the second he crosses the whitewash, and flys out the line for some Courtney Lawes-esque hits that gets the fans out of their seats. A supporters favourite not just in Welford Road, but across all of England when he makes a Test match appearance, the future is bright for the Itoje x Martin England engine room collaboration.

On the bench is Ollie Chessum, who could well be unleashed at lock or in the back row for Borthwick. A fellow Leicester Tigers man that can bring the club camaraderie with Martin, Chessum is the ultimate utility man that would benefit the squad even if Itoje has to exit the pitch. We've handed Chessum the 19 shirt on the bench, with Tom Willis pushed out of the 23 this time around.

The England back row is a massive area of contention each week, with Tom and Ben Curry getting their first starts alongside each other for the tournament opener against Ireland. However, we predict that Borthwick could let Chandler Cunningham-South loose on Les Bleus from the get go, with Ben Curry back on the replacements bench for a fiery second half involvement. Cunningham-South had an immediate impact as a substitute in Dublin, with his customary hits and breakdown work a highlight of his game.

Tom Curry put in an exemplary effort in Dublin, and is backed to retain his place on the flank for the second consecutive Six Nations game week. The Sale man helped his less experienced twin get to grips with the Six Nations stage, and worked in a neat trio with Ben Earl in the back row. Curry grabbed a nice try to cap off his efforts, as he supported Murley's break along the touch-line, and was dutifully rewarded for his tireless work rate to keep up with the play.

Ben Earl took a rare seat amongst the replacements against Ireland, as Borthwick took off his eight-man in a direct swap with Tom Willis. There was plenty of expectation that Borthwick could utilise Earl on the flank with Willis at eight, akin to how the duo work together week in and week out at Saracens, yet the England head coach had other ideas for the North London bruisers. Earl was excellent against Ireland and is a surefire option to start at the back of the pack against France, who come armed with Gregory Aldritt.