England v France: Five talking points ahead of the Twickenham showdown

Eddie Jones has yet to taste defeat as England coach, but a tough Six Nations campaign awaits, with injuries to key players throwing additional curve balls at the Australian.

First up, it's Guy Noves' France, and we look at five talking points ahead of the all-important clash...

New-look back row

It's an all-new back row for England against the French, with several injuries necessitating the changes.

Maro Itoje, still yet to taste defeat in an England jersey, makes the switch from the second row into the No 6 jersey to cover for Chris Robshaw.

"[Itoje] has got big shoes to fill," said Jones. "Chris Robshaw has been one of our integral players in the team with his work rate but Maro has trained well in that position and we believe he can make a really good fist of it.

"He brings his lineout skills. He will give us a third jumper in the line which will make Steve Borthwick happy."

The lineout will be a key factor against France, as the second-row selection of Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes offers a premium physical presence at the scrum, but neither are the kind of lineout specialist in the mould of injured Saracens lock George Kruis.

On the other side of the scrum, Tom Wood gets the nod at openside, with James Haskell picked on the bench. Haskell has played less than an hour of rugby this year, so despite being cleared fully fit this weekend, Jones has opted to ease Haskell back into the fray with what is likely to be a second-half appearance.

"Guy Noves likes a big team. He picks a traditional French forward pack with squat front-rowers who scrummage well, big locks who give a lot of ballast and athletic back-rowers."

The autumn injury to Billy Vunipola means Nathan Hughes wins his fourth England cap at No 8, with the Wasps man eager to make an impression on Jones.

Meanwhile, alongside Haskell on the bench is Teimana Harrison, indicating the intense competition for back-row places in Jones' team.

Daly over Nowell

Eddie Jones has started six wingers in his time in charge, with Jack Nowell and Anthony Watson the preferred combination across England's 13 Tests under the Australian.

Elliot Daly came into the reckoning during the autumn internationals, starting on the wing against Fiji and Argentina, but his red card in the latter encounter ruled him out for the final Test of the year against the Wallabies.

Watson is injured, which opens the door for Jonny May to start, but the inclusion of Daly ahead of Nowell is an interesting one given Jones' perceived preference towards the Exeter man when available.

Nowell missed Tuesday's training sessions due to personal reasons and was only back in the England camp on Thursday, but Jones says the selection of Daly is purely a tactical one.

"Elliot did superbly for us in the autumn," said Jones. "He has a big left-foot kick and he has genuine pace.

"Jack's absence had nothing to do with the selection. It is more a case of horses for courses."

Daring England

Jones promised ahead of the Six Nations that England would employ a bold new approach, indicating a desire to keep the ball moving in this year's Championship.

By selecting variable back row options in the matchday 23, including the fact that Courtney Lawes can also play flanker, Jones has shown his hand in terms of where he thinks the game will be won.

An expansive approack.h will be successful only if England are able to win the breakdown area, and Jones believes the way to do it is to move France's enormous pack around the park.

"We want to be absolutely daring against the French in this first game and set the standard for the tournament," said Jones.

"Guy Noves likes a big team. He picks a traditional French forward pack with squat front-rowers who scrummage well, big locks who give a lot of ballast and athletic back-rowers.

"It's based on size and crunching that gain line, getting an off-load and then playing with flair.

"Of course, this gives you an opportunity when you've got a big forward pack against you and we intend to exploit that."

Records await

England are one victory away from setting a new national record for successive Test wins. A win against France and Jones' men will eclipse the 14-match mark established by Sir Clive Woodward's World Cup winners in 2002-03.

England have distanced themselves from the milestone, instead focusing only on delivering against the French, but it's one of two records that are in the eyeline of the England squad over the next two months.

Beat the French and the England record for 15 successive Test wins is theirs. Win the Grand Slam and the world record of 18 wins by the All Blacks is overtaken.

Though England say they won't focus on it, it won't have gone unnoticed in the camp this week.

France's development

France's decline that began in the last decade has continued its downward spiral, but there were signs against New Zealand and Australia during the autumn that a resurgence may be around the corner.

Les Bleus were within touching distance of beating the Wallabies before eventually going down 25-23, then threw away a lead against the All Blacks in Paris a week later to lose 24-19.

One of the shining lights of the autumn for Guy Noves was 22-year-old scrum-half Baptiste Serin. The Bordeaux-Begles man will pair up with fly-half Camille Lopez for his sixth cap this weekend as France seek a first away win against England since 2007.

France may have opted for a traditionally beefy pack, but the exciting half-back pairing suggests Noves does not fear an expansive game against England.

Noves is a respected coach who has been talked up by opposite number Jones, and a clearer picture of France's progress will emerge at Twickenham on Saturday.

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Jonny May, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Joe Marler, 2. Dylan Hartley (c), 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Courtney Lawes, 6 Maro Itoje, 7 Tom Wood, 8 Nathan Hughes.

Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Teimana Harrison, 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ben Te'o, 23 Jack Nowell.

France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Remi Lamerat, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin; 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 3 Uini Atonio, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 5 Yoann Maestri, 6 Damien Chouly, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 8 Louis Picamoles.

Replacements: 16 Clement Maynadier, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Xavier Chiocci, 19 Arthur Iturria, 20 Loann Goujon, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Jean Marc Doussain, 23 Yoann Huget.