Owen Farrell dropped by England for first time since 2015

Marcus Smith (right) has been named as England’s starting fly-half against France as Owen Farrell (left) drops to the bench (Ben Whitley/PA)

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.