The Saints trio of George Furbank, Tommy Freeman and Alex Mitchell all start again as England round-off their Guinness Six Nations campaign against France.
The title is a possibility England, though Steve Borthwick's side must win handsomely in Lyon and hope for a favourable result when Ireland host Scotland earlier on Saturday afternoon.
Furbank, who has scored a try in his last two matches for England, resumes at fullback and is joined by clubmate Tommy Freeman in the back three. Mitchell, meanwhile, impressed on his return from injury in the dramatic 23 – 22 win over Ireland last time out and is at scrum-half.
“After such a hard-fought win against Ireland last week, we realise how important it is to back that performance up with another similar display in Lyon on Saturday,” said Borthwick.
“France remain one of the very top sides in the world, and will pose a great challenge for us.
“We've had a great preparation so far this week and there is a genuine sense of anticipation and determination around the camp as we head to what will be an exciting final weekend.”
ENGLAND TEAM TO PLAY FRANCE
Saturday 16 March, 2024
Groupama Stadium, Lyon
Kick-off: 8pm (GMT)
15 George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 8 caps)
14 Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 7 caps)
13 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 61 caps)
12 Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 23 caps)
11 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 68 caps)
10 George Ford (Sale Sharks, 95 caps) – vice captain
9 Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 14 caps)
1 Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 61 caps) – vice captain
2 Jamie George (Saracens, 89 caps) – captain
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 111 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 80 caps) – vice captain
5 George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 11 caps)
6 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 22 caps)
7 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 34 caps)
8 Ben Earl (Saracens, 29 caps)
Replacements
16 Theo Dan (Saracens, 11 caps)
17 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 92 caps)
18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 37 caps)
19 Ethan Roots (Exeter Chiefs, 3 caps)
20 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 16 caps)
21 Danny Care (Harlequins, 100 caps)
22 Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 31 caps)
23 Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 59 caps)
