England name Chessum at six as Borthwick sticks with back line against France

Steve Borthwick has kept faith with the back line that fell to a historic loss to Italy as England look to salvage their Six Nations campaign in a daunting trip to France, with Ollie Chessum coming into the pack.

Borthwick’s side lost to the Azzurri for the first time last weekend, which, with championship favourites France up next in Paris, leaves them staring down the barrel of a fifth-placed Six Nations finish, their worst ever.

The England head coach made a record nine changes, with a further three positional switches, before the defeat in Rome but as first reported in Telegraph Sport the alterations are minimal for this Saturday, with Borthwick favouring cohesion and consistency.

Borthwick has named an unchanged back line for the match at the Stade de France, with the one change to the starting XV coming up front, where Chessum starts at blindside flanker. Chessum, 25, starts in the No 6 shirt for England for the first time since the 2024 Six Nations – although he performed the same role for the Lions against the Brumbies last summer – with Borthwick looking to shore up the underperforming line-out.

Guy Pepper partners Chessum on the flank, with Sam Underhill dropping to the bench after being called into the starting XV in Rome at the last minute for Tom Curry, who limped out in the warm-up and will not feature in this weekend’s fixture.

Underhill sits alongside Chandler Cunningham-South, who replaced Curry among the replacements against Italy and will do the same for Chessum in Paris. The Harlequins forward made his first appearance of the championship last weekend in Rome, where he came off the bench for five minutes.

Borthwick’s faith means that Ben Spencer and Fin Smith continue at half-back, while Seb Atkinson and Tommy Freeman comprise the midfield. Part of the thought process is that Borthwick and his attack coach, Lee Blackett, believe that Smith and Atkinson have a high ceiling as a Test 10-12 combination, with the duo requiring time in the saddle. At outside centre, Ollie Lawrence continues to struggle with a knee niggle.