LOCKS
4. Maro Itoje
5. George Martin
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.
BACK ROW
6. Ethan Roots
7. Sam Underhill
8. Ben Earl
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.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Theo Dan (Saracens)
17. Joe Marler (Harlequins)
18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
19. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
20. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
21. Danny Care (Harlequins)
22. George Ford (Sale Sharks)
23. Elliot Daly (Saracens)
POTENTIAL INJURY REPLACEMENTS
*Elliot Daly for Tommy Freeman
*Henry Slade for Fraser Dingwall and then swap with Ollie Lawrence