Marcus Smith will make his second ever start for England at full-back with Freddie Steward shifting to the wing
PARIS — Henry Arundell has a belated chance to show what he can do against quality opposition after the back-three hotshot was selected on the wing forArundell was briefly top of the try-scoring charts in the competition after he bagged five tries in the 71-0 rout of Chile in Lille in the pool stage, but otherwise he has been frozen out of an England team who relied on Freddie Steward, Jonny May, Elliot Daly, Joe Marchant and – most surprisingly – Marcus Smith, in the back three instead.
Flanker Tom Curry is included for England from the start, having received a public message of support from his club Sale Sharks on Wednesday to add to those from England and the Rugby Football Union earlier in the week, as the case triggered by Curry’s accusation to the semi-final referee of a racist remark by South Africa’s Bongi Mbonambi continues in the background.
Two players who have signalled this World Cup will be the end of their international rugby careers, Courtney Lawes and Jonny May, are out of the line-up and have almost certainly played their last matches for England – perhaps as a sign of Borthwick already looking to the future.
Arundell has a special one-season dispensation to play abroad, as his former club London Irish went into administration earlier this year.
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