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06 Sept 2025

England name Marcus Smith at fly-half as captain Owen Farrell dropped

England name Marcus Smith at fly-half as captain Owen Farrell dropped

Marcus Smith has been entrusted with the fly-half duties for England’s Guinness Six Nations clash with France after Steve Borthwick made the bombshell decision to drop captain Owen Farrell.

Farrell has been demoted to the bench for the first time since 2015 for Saturday’s Twickenham showdown with the Grand Slam champions.

Ellis Genge is named captain for the first time in place of Farrell but there are no further changes to the starting XV that toppled Wales in round three.

“The players selected to face our visitors are again a reflection of what I see to be the right balance of personnel for the challenge we face in this game,” Borthwick said,

“Marcus Smith starts at fly-half and Dave Ribbans returns to the match day 23. Congratulations to Ellis Genge who will captain the side for the first time.”

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