Prediction: Steve Borthwick's England team to play France in 2025 Six Nations
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The second round of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations is coming round at a meteoric pace, with England set to host France at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham this Saturday. Steve Borthwick’s side have not gotten off to the best start in the competition, following an opening round defeat away to Ireland, which finished 27-22 to Simon Easterby’s side in Dublin.
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.
Find your local Greene King and settle in for the 2025 Six Nations!
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.
BACK THREE
15. Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
11. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
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 for 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 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.
CENTRES
13. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
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.
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