England v Chile: Rugby World Cup - Marcus Smith starts at full-back as Owen Farrell returns

Marcus Smith's involvement at the Rugby World Cup has been limited to appearances off the bench in the 75th and 69th minute of wins against Argentina and Japan

Marcus Smith starts at full-back and captain Owen Farrell returns at 10 in an experimental, much-changed England side to face Chile on Saturday.

Smith impressed in the position after coming off the bench in recent weeks, including in the Pool D win over Japan.

Farrell appears for the first time at France 2023 after a four-match ban. George Ford is named as a replacement.

Ollie Lawrence, Henry Arundell and Max Malins also come in, with Billy Vunipola and Jack Willis in the pack.

Lawrence, named the Premiership's player of the year in May after five tries in 12 appearances for Bath, is paired in midfield with Elliot Daly, who is one of only three players retained from the starting line-up that beat Japan.

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Wings Arundell and Malins will make their first appearances of the tournament, while prop Bevan Rodd and second row David Ribbans also earn their first Rugby World Cup minutes.

Hooker Theo Dan, second row George Martin and scrum-half Danny Care start for the first time in the campaign too.

England: Smith; Arundell, Daly, Lawrence, Malins; Farrell, Care; Rodd, Dan, Sinckler, Ribbans, Martin, Ludlam, Willis, Vunipola.

Replacements: Walker, Marler, Stuart, Chessum, Earl, Youngs, Ford, Marchant

Victory against Chile would put England on the brink of qualification after wins over Argentina and Japan.

"We are all tremendously excited to see our captain on the grass on Saturday," said head coach Steve Borthwick of Farrell's return.

"He has been an incredible leader for this team despite being unable to play in the first two games of the World Cup. He has been a fantastic influence.

"What we see in Chile is an incredibly committed team, with players with pace that try to keep that ball alive. It means we have to defend very well and give them no space."

Borthwick's side conclude their Pool D campaign against Samoa in a fortnight's time before a potential quarter-final against Wales, Australia or Fiji.

With England expected to comfortably beat Chile, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, the performance of individual players, rather than the contest's outcome, may become the main point of interest as the match goes on.

'He just jumped at it'

A pre-tournament injury to versatile back-three operator Anthony Watson has deprived England of one full-back option, but few foresaw Smith, a specialist fly-half for Harlequins, emerging as an alternative.

With Daly and Malins deployed elsewhere in the line-up and first-choice Freddie Steward rested, Smith, 24, gets a chance to show he can turn some entertaining cameos into a genuine alternative for Borthwick.

"He just jumped at it," England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said earlier this week of Smith's switch of roles.

"He's trained there a fair bit and he's been really impressive. It's definitely something that you look at more and more because of his attitude to it and how positive he is with it - and then how he's performed on the training field as well."

England will hope Smith's enthusiasm can make up for a lack of experience as this will be his first senior start at full-back for either club or country.

Farrell has been banned for the first two games of the tournament

Farrell had appeared to move ahead of Smith in the battle for England's fly-half role earlier this year, but both may have been outflanked by Ford's emergence.

After returning from a Achilles tendon injury, Ford played a key part in Sale's run to this season's Premiership final before impressing in the absence of the suspended Farrell against Argentina and Japan.

It is possible Farrell, Ford and Smith all take the field together in the latter stages of the match, with Ford among the replacements.

Vunipola, the only specialist number eight in England's squad, is also fighting for his place in the first string.

Saracens team-mate Ben Earl was preferred against Japan and rewarded Borthwick's faith with a stellar performance in which he registered team-high stats for both metres and tackles made.

Chile qualified for the Rugby World Cup for the first time in their history via a dramatic 52-51 aggregate win in a two-legged play-off against the United States, sealed by a 75th-minute penalty from Santiago Videla.

Videla is one of the 30 players in the 33-man squad who play together for Selknam, a Santiago-based professional team who compete in the Superliga Americana de Rugby, a South American continental club tournament.

One of the exceptions is captain Martin Sigren, who turned out for Championship side Doncaster Knights last season, becoming the first Chilean to play professional rugby union in England.

Chile: Urroz; Game, D Saavedra, Garafulic, Velarde; Fernandez, B Videla; Lues, Bohme, Dittus, C Saavedra, Eissmann, Sigren (c), Silva, Escobar.

Replacements: Dussaillant, Lastra, Gurruchaga, Huete, Orchard, Martinez, Carvallo, Ayarza