\n<\/p>\n
Fin Smith’s most-recent fly-half cameo came when he was introduced in the 64th minute in Dublin on Saturday.<\/p>\n
England were 10 points adrift at the time but tries from Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman helped the visitors close the gap to a 27-22 final scoreline, ensuring a losing bonus point.<\/p>\n
Since the start of 2023, England have lost nine of 11 Tests starting with Marcus Smith at 10, only beating Japan on two occasions.<\/p>\n
The Harlequins star prefers fly-half but has been used several times by Borthwick as a full-back.<\/p>\n
He was deployed at 15 in wins over Chile, Fiji and Argentina during the 2023 Rugby World Cup and played there for almost the entirety of England’s narrow 33-31 loss to France last season following a George Furbank injury.<\/p>\n
Willis, whose brother Jack plays for Toulouse and is therefore ineligible for selection for England, has been rewarded for his fine Saracens form.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old will make his first Test start after a couple of replacement appearances.<\/p>\n
England suffered their record home defeat<\/a> the last time they hosted France in the Six Nations, losing 53-10 with Marcus Smith starting at fly-half ahead of Owen Farrell.<\/p>\n France, who thrashed Wales 43-0 <\/a>in their opening match of this year’s tournament, named their team earlier on Thursday<\/a> with fly-half Matthieu Jalibert and wing Damian Penaud coming into their starting XV.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n