England coach Steve Borthwick believes Marcus Smith will benefit from playing on his return to Harlequins after the fly-half was left out of his 26-man training squad.

Smith was omitted from Borthwick's selection ahead of England's Six Nations meeting with holders France next week.

While the 24-year-old has not been counted out of contention for that match at Twickenham on March 11, it does cast doubt on his position in the matchday squad.

However, Borthwick – who recalled George Ford – is confident game time with his club will do Smith good.

"The decision was that Marcus would benefit from game time at his club and having that match sharpness," Borthwick said.

"I'm not picking a squad for France. We're not in Test week, we're in a training camp week.

"George played for his club at the weekend, and this is an opportunity for Marcus to go and play.

"Marcus had very limited game time against Wales because of the nature of the game, so I thought this was a step forward for him.

"On a weekly basis, you're making a decision on what is the right thing for the player this week to be then ready to play for England.

"For all our players, I'm making those decisions. For some, it's to go and get game time, for others it's to be in the training camp here."

Ford has only just recovered from injury but Borthwick, who worked alongside him at Leicester Tigers, has not hesitated in getting the Sale Sharks fly-half into the fold.

"We are blessed with some fantastic fly-halves in this country," Borthwick said. "They all have different skillsets and different qualities, so that means it is a great position of strength for England.

"George is looking tremendously sharp and in great condition, and is clearly a very experienced player.

"That adds to the strength we have in that position. I am looking forward to seeing Marcus play this weekend, and when you add in Owen [Farrell] and Fin Smith – who I have been hugely impressed by – it shows [it's] a position where we are blessed to have a number of top-quality players."

Max Malins has been left out of the squad while he nurses an ankle issue, with Jonny May called up in his place.

All eyes will be on the Stade de France on Saturday as the 2022 Six Nations comes to a conclusion when leaders France take on England.

While the visitors can finish no higher than third place, Eddie Jones' men will revel in being the ultimate party poopers in Paris.

Victory for France in 'Le Crunch' will seal a first Grand Slam since 2010, though Les Blues could still finish top and land a first title since then should Ireland fail to beat Scotland.

Saturday's other fixture sees Wales take on pointless Italy in Cardiff and, while there may be little riding on that game, it will be a milestone occasion for a couple of players.

Ahead of the final round of fixtures, Stats Perform previews each match with help from Opta.

FRANCE V ENGLAND

FORM

The omens are good for France as two of their previous three Six Nations Grand Slams have been completed with victory over England in the final round, in 2004 and again six years later, while just one of the past nine games between these sides in the competition has been won by the visitors – England prevailing 31-21 in 2016.

Fabien Galthie's charges have lost just one of their past eight home games in the competition, with that solitary defeat coming at the hands of Scotland last year as they chased a big winning margin to pip Wales to the title.

England are aiming to avoid losing three matches in a single edition of the Six Nations for the third time in seven years playing under Eddie Jones, having also done so in 2018 and 2021, and for a fifth time overall. 

ONES TO WATCH

Damian Penaud, who has a joint-high three tries in this year's tournament, is back in France's starting XV after recovering from coronavirus, replacing the injured Yoram Moefana. France have scored seven tries from counter-attacks this year, which is at least three more than any other team, so pacey Penaud could cause some damage this weekend.

England will need to work incredibly hard if they are to stop arguably the world's top side right now and hope that their key players turn up. In Marcus Smith they boast a player who leads the way for points in 2022 with 63, 19 more than next-best Melvyn Jaminet.

IRELAND V SCOTLAND

FORM

Ireland must beat Scotland earlier on Saturday if they are to remain in title contention and they have a great recent record in this fixture, winning seven of their last eight Six Nations meetings.

That record is even better on home soil, meanwhile, having been victorious in 10 of the last 11 encounters in the competition, including each of the last five in a row. Scotland's only win in that run came at Croke Park in 2010.

Fourth-placed Scotland have won five of their last six away games in the tournament, however, which is as many as they had managed in their previous 43.

ONES TO WATCH

Ireland were made to work hard for their victory against an England side that played almost the entire 80 minutes with 14 men last week, but they did ultimately get the job done. Jamison Gibson-Park led the way for passes in that match with 59 – more than double any opposition player – and he has a joint-high three assists in this edition.

Finn Russell is level with Gibson-Park on three assists, but he has been surprisingly omitted from Scotland's squad for the match at the Aviva Stadium due to his growing indiscipline and poor form. Ali Price is next for Scotland on the assists list with two, and there will now be more focus on him on what is his 51st cap.

WALES V ITALY

FORM

Wales are aiming to climb two places and finish third and will be confident of fulfilling their half of the bargain by claiming a bonus-point win against bottom side Italy. The Dragons have won each of their last 14 in this fixture, last tasting defeat in 2007.

After losing at home to France in their most recent home match, Wales are aiming to avoid successive losses at the Principality Stadium in the competition for the first time in 15 years, when losing their final such game in 2006 and first in 2007.

Italy will claim the Wooden Spoon once again having lost all five games this year, stretching their record losing run in the tournament to 36 matches. The Azzurri's most recent win away from home came against Scotland in 2015.

ONES TO WATCH

This will be a special occasion for Dan Biggar, who is in line for his 100th cap, and Alun Wyn Jones, who returns for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury against New Zealand in October for his 150th appearance. That makes the Wales skipper the first player to win 150 or more caps for a single nation in history.

Ange Capuozzo has been handed a first Test start after making a big impression in an otherwise disappointing campaign for Italy. The Grenoble full-back has scored two tries in this year's Six Nations, accounting for half of Italy's total, with both of those coming in a 34-minute appearance against Scotland in round four.

England are still a work in progress and can improve on the back of their morale-boosting 33-0 win over Italy, according to star performer Marcus Smith.

Following last week's 20-17 loss to Scotland, England got off the mark with their first win of the 2022 Six Nations, achieved in emphatic style in Rome.

Smith scored the first of England's five tries at Stadio Olimpico and assisted another in a standout display from the fly-half.

It is the third time Smith has both scored and assisted a try in a Test match for England, while overall he now has eight try involvements in seven Tests.

The 22-year-old beat six defenders against Italy, which is the most by an England fly-half in the Six Nations since Jonny Wilkinson's eight against Ireland in 2002.

Despite impressing in a much better all-round performance from coach Eddie Jones' team, Smith believes there is more to come ahead of hosting Wales in two weeks' time.

"We have loads to work on. We are still learning on our journey, but we will enjoy tonight and get back on the horse tomorrow," he told ITV Sport.

"We put a big emphasis on today – we were very disappointed after Murrayfield. Eddie [Jones] spoke about the next job and we have put ourselves back in it with that win.

"I've never played here before. There was a special atmosphere, with loads of England fans having come out. We had to put a show on for them.

"We were a bit scrappy and credit to Italy, but to score 33 points is always nice."

Jamie George crossed twice after Smith had opened the scoring, to give England a 21-0 lead at half-time – their joint-biggest ever in an away game in the Six Nations.

Elliot Daly and Kyle Sinckler extended England's lead in the second half as they achieved just a second nilling of the opposition in the competition, the other coming against Scotland in 2014.

Reflecting on a job well done by his side, head coach Jones said: "It was a good performance from us. We started the game well, got a bit of a flow, started the second half well, and defended well at the end.

"Italy are a tough team and they keep coming. If we were a bit tidier with some of our work, some running lines, it could have been a big score.

"[Italy] have played New Zealand and France and in the first halves been in the game – and they were not in the game today.

"Marcus did well, Harry Randall did some good things at the start and [Alex[ Dombrandt had a really solid game."

England have now won all 23 of their Six Nations matches against Italy and are the only side the Azzurri have never beaten in the championship.

Indeed, Italy have lost 34 matches in a row in the Six Nations in an unwanted record streak stretching back to 2015.

The Azzurri's ill-discipline, as well as some individual errors, once again cost them against England in a match in which they conceded 12 penalties.

Home skipper Michele Lamaro was left to bemoan some sloppy play from his side in their latest loss.

"We're obviously disappointed again," he said. "Discipline was a big point for us last week [when losing to France]. We had to improve this week, and we didn't really perform in that scenario.

"We have to get better in discipline, especially in the first half when we conceded too many penalties. Obviously if you concede them to 30-40 metres each time, it becomes difficult to defend.

"Last week our exits were not that good, this week our discipline wasn't pretty good. Obviously in defence we have to put something on, and I think we can improve a lot."

Jamie George scored two first-half tries as England cruised to a 33-0 bonus-point victory against Italy at Stadio Olimpico for their first win of the 2022 Six Nations.

England fell to a late 20-17 loss to Scotland in their opening match but any risk of back-to-back defeats to begin a campaign for the first time since 2005 never looked likely.

The visitors crossed over three times in the first half, with George at the double after Marcus Smith had opened the scoring inside nine minutes.

Elliot Daly and Kyle Sinckler further punished sloppy Italy, who have now lost each of their past 34 matches in the Six Nations and have still yet to beat England in the competition.

Italy took a shock early lead in last week's loss to France, though they were on the wrong end of an early try against England as Smith linked up with Max Malins and dived over.

England did not have to wait long for a second try, with George burying his way over from close range to finish off a move he started from a lineout.

Maro Itoje had a try ruled out for obstruction, but England were out of sight before half-time as George collected Smith's offload and grounded after dodging a couple of tackles.

Daly, brought on for Jack Nowell in the first half after the wing failed a head injury assessment, added a fourth for England when racing in down the left early in the second half.

England introduced Ben Youngs for the scrum-half's 114th cap, equalling Jason Leonard's Test record, while Ollie Chessum was handed his senior debut.

Italy pushed hard for a consolation try without finding one, and it was left to Sinckler to have the final say with a simple finish following a costly Leonardo Marin error.

Marcus Smith starts at fly-half and Owen Farrell returns at inside centre, while Manu Tuilagi moves to the wing when England face Australia on Saturday.

Smith came off the bench in the 69-3 thrashing of Tonga last weekend but will make his third Test start in place of George Furbank against the Wallabies at Twickenham.

Captain Farrell comes back into the team after missing the drubbing of the Pacific island nation due to his positive coronavirus test.

Tuilagi shifts from midfield to the right wing, with Jonny May on the other flank, and Maro Itoje will make his 50th appearance for his country in an unchanged pack.

Bevan Rodd and Raffi Quirke could make their debuts off the bench, but Joe Marler will not feature after the prop tested positive for COVID-19.

England head coach Eddie Jones said: "We know this will be a tough test for us, we're playing against a team who have been together a while and who have beat the world champions twice. As an Australian, I know how much this game means.

"We've had a really good week of preparation, we're looking to improve our performance this week and I think this side is building well."

England: Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Henry Slade, Owen Farrell (captain), Jonny May, Marcus Smith, Ben Youngs; Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Jonny Hill, Courtney Lawes, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry.

Replacements: Jamie Blamire, Bevan Rodd, Will Stuart, Charlie Ewels, Alex Dombrandt, Sam Simmonds, Raffi Quirke, Max Malins.

Marcus Smith played himself into contention to start the first Test against South Africa after a debut for the British and Irish Lions that delighted Warren Gatland.

Coach Gatland also expressed satisfaction at seeing Alun Wyn Jones back in action during Saturday's 49-3 win over the Stormers, three weeks after the captain dislocated his shoulder against Japan.

There will be "robust debate" over the coming days, Gatland predicted, as he and his coaching team consider their options for the July 24 series opener against the Springboks.

"With Marcus Smith, the longer the game went on, the better he looked and more comfortable out there," Gatland said.

Smith was a late addition to the tourists' squad, summoned from England duty after winning his first caps for Eddie Jones' side, but the Harlequins fly-half brought youthful zest to the Lions in Cape Town.

His kicking was reliable too, Smith nailing the extras for each of the Lions' seven tries.

As for whether the 22-year-old should start against South Africa, Gatland said: "Those are conversations we haven't had. I thought he looked good out there, some lovely touches. He kicked for goal well and I thought he defended well.

"For a guy who's only had one training session I thought it was pretty good. He'll be part of the discussions, no doubt about that.

"A lot of people put their hand up tonight and there were some pleasing performances on Wednesday too."

Wednesday's game saw the Lions beaten 17-13 by a strong South Africa A team, and Gatland made wholesale changes for the Stormers clash, allowing him to have a good look at all his options.

The return of Jones, who arrived in South Africa only on Thursday, means he assumes the tour captaincy again. That responsibility was initially transferred to Conor Murray when it appeared Jones had no chance of being involved.

Murray was more than happy to hand over the leadership duty, Gatland said, with one caveat.

"Conor, he's the first to admit he was more than comfortable for Alun Wyn to come back," Gatland said. "He wasn't prepared to give up his bedroom suite though, because I think he got the captain's bedroom suite."

Jones had almost half an hour as a second-half replacement against the Stormers, and Gatland said Test rugby's most-capped player would benefit from getting back to action.

"I thought he put a few shots on and defended well, had a couple of touches," Gatland said in his post-game news conference.

"The big thing for him was to get through that period and then to see how he was afterwards.

"We'll have that discussion about whether there's a role for him, either as a starter or a bench player or not involved next week.

"If he is not involved, we'll look at who potentially leads the team."

Marcus Smith has been called up to the British and Irish Lions squad for their tour of South Africa, as Finn Russell struggles with an Achilles tendon injury.

Fly-half Smith, 22, helped Harlequins to the Premiership title this season and made his England debut against the United States last week.

He followed up his international bow with a superb showing in a 70-14 demolition of Canada on Saturday, kicking nine conversions.

After impressing at Twickenham, Smith – following coronavirus testing – will be heading to South Africa to join up with the Lions, who faced the Sharks on Saturday in their third match of the tour, with the three-Test series against the Springboks starting later this month.

And Gatland is excited to see what Smith can bring to his squad, with Russell likely to be out for several weeks.

"Finn Russell has been managing an Achilles injury he's had for a couple of weeks, but he's not going to be 100 per cent," Gatland explained.

"He's got a slight tear in his Achilles, they're going to inject it and see if they can manage it through the next couple of weeks, as a result we're going to call up Marcus Smith to come out here on Sunday.

"He'll catch a flight, needs to be PCR tested after the [England] game and hopefully all is well. He's been absolutely outstanding, I'm a big fan of his, watched him play last year, thought he was really promising, had a great season for Harlequins.

"He's been playing regularly, winning the championship with Harlequins, playing for England now and a similar player to Finn Russell so a like-for-like replacement in a lot of ways, so he might add something exciting and new to the squad."