Chessum starts in back row in only England change

Under-pressure England have made a solitary change to their line-up to face France in the final round of the Six Nations on Saturday with Ollie Chessum coming into the back row.

The versatile Chessum, 25, started the first three games of England's campaign in the second row but will add weight, ball-carrying power and a useful line-out option as blind-side flanker.

With Tom Curry out with a calf injury sustained in the warm-up of their loss to Italy, Guy Pepper shifts to open-side.

Sam Underhill, who came into the starting line-up as a last-minute replacement for Curry in Rome, drops to the bench.

England: Daly; Roebuck, Freeman, S Atkinson, Murley; F Smith, Spencer; Genge, George, Heyes, Itoje (capt), Coles, Chessum, Pepper, Earl

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Rodd, Davison, Cunningham-South, Underhill, Pollock, Van Poortvliet, M Smith

Ben Earl, who took on much of the ball-carrying against Italy, continues at number eight as part of a back row that has more heft than previous combinations selected by head coach Steve Borthwick.

A little over a fortnight ago, in the 42-21 loss to Ireland, he fielded Henry Pollock, alongside Curry and Earl in a trio that instead prioritised speed and breakdown work.

Elsewhere the side is unchanged, with Fin Smith continuing at fly-half, Seb Atkinson and Tommy Freeman in the centres and Alex Coles partnering captain Maro Itoje in the second row.

Underhill and Marcus Smith could win their 50th England caps off the bench.

"Ollie came on against Italy and did a really good job from a ball-carrying perspective, from a line-out perspective, in the contact area and the energy he gave the team," head coach Steve Borthwick told Rugby Union Weekly of Chessum.

"We have got Alex Coles who has developed so much as a player over the last period, he has played well in all the minutes he has had in this tournament.

"I saw signs of Maro Itoje really starting to produce on Saturday, we all saw the number of turnovers he won and the presence he was around the pitch.

"So it's a way of having all three of them this week, with Tom Curry being unavailable.

"The other factor is France's forward pack are always very athletic and very powerful and I think having a player like Ollie Chessum in the back row helps us there."

England had earmarked this match as a potential title decider before the start of the Six Nations, but defeats by Scotland, Ireland and Italy have left them fifth in the table. Another loss would condemn them to the worst campaign in 27 years of the Six Nations.

"It's a huge challenge under the lights in Paris against a very strong France side," added Borthwick, who was backed by his Rugby Football Union boss on Sunday to turn around the team's form.

"England versus France is one of the great rivalries in international rugby and we're looking forward to the occasion."

France, who will wear a special commemorative shirt to mark 120 years since the start of the teams' rivalry, have won the past four meetings on home soil.

England have to go back to their 2016 Grand Slam-winning year for their last away success over France.

The hosts, level with Scotland on 16 points at the top of the table heading into the final round, will be clear on what they need to do to retain their Six Nations title come kick-off.

Scotland will play Ireland, who are two points off the leading two, in the first match of the day at 14:10 GMT.