Steve Borthwick came to power vowing to pick on form rather than reputation and has stayed true to his word by dropping captain Owen Farrell for Saturday’s game against France.
Marcus Smith has been rewarded for his electrifying display for Harlequins last weekend with selection at fly-half, with Ellis Genge handed the captaincy for the first time.
Borthwick had already proved himself unafraid to wield the axe when dropping Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs in previous rounds. But this is the big one. Farrell was last relegated out of the team in the 2015 World Cup.
