Stalling England seek to step on the gas with Smith shuffle against France | Robert Kitson

A flash red Ferrari was parked directly outside England’s team hotel shortly before Steve Borthwick unveiled his lineup to face France. It was tempting to see it as a symbol of everything the home side would love their reshuffled weekend team to be: fast, striking and a far cry from the battered Skoda they have metaphorically been driving around this season.

In tossing the playmaking keys to Northampton’s precocious Fin Smith, with Marcus Smith shunted into the role of keen-eyed back seat driver, that is essentially the ambition this week. Up the pace, keep the accelerator down for longer than they did in Dublin last Saturday and see where it takes them. Both on paper and in the car park the superficial appeal is obvious.

No longer, furthermore, does picking Smith M at 15 involve equipping him with L-plates. The Harlequins gamebreaker finished the Irish game at full-back, did likewise last autumn and played almost the whole game there in England’s thrilling loss to France in Lyon 11 months ago. He scored a try and did well enough, with George Ford at fly-half, for Borthwick to be minded to repeat the experiment again.

There is no swerving the cold, hard truth, however. If England were currently purring they would not be redeploying the boy Marcus away from No 10. Instead, having lost seven of their last nine Tests, they badly need fresh impetus from somewhere. It is a great opportunity for the younger Smith, making his first start, but it also leaves his rival stuck between a ruck and a hard place.

Do well in a position he would ideally prefer not to be filling and he could end up there for the rest of the championship. Disappear beneath a mountainous heap of giant Frenchmen and, assuming the young Saint impresses, he might be in danger of ending up as a bench impact player. A cynic might even wonder if, instead of dropping England’s best player from last autumn, he is being quietly set up for a fall.

Admittedly, there is a degree of method to it all. France tend to kick longer than almost any other team in world rugby, theoretically giving Smith more time and space in which to launch those hitch-kicking counterattacks of his. Unfortunately that overlooks the other side of the equation: what happens when Smith finds himself the last line of defence with Grégory Alldritt bearing down or when he has to go up for a high ball against a try-hungry Damian Penaud?

Fin Smith has been given a great opportunity to impress for England. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

Because, on the face of it, Smith M is simply not a natural-born Test full-back, even in the changing modern game. Here’s hoping he sparkles against France because, if so, the outcome will be closer than some currently fear. But defensively it is like asking a squirrel to compete with a giraffe for the tastiest leaves on a tree. Even if he has the occasional success the laws of physics remain stacked against him.

France are being reassuring ambassadorial in public – “He’s a unique player for the English … he’s a sort of genius,” shrugged Fabien Galthié – but in private they will surely be planning to send a couple of big ball carriers on an early hunting mission. Shaun Edwards did not get where he is today by urging his players to go easy on either of the Smiths. That said, there might also be a twinge of disappointment at Freddie Steward’s absence in the wake of a rampant Toulouse’s 80-point shellacking of Steward’s Leicester last month.

Maybe that was another reason why Borthwick ultimately concluded there was limited value in playing safe. If England just sit there playing the percentages they will be sitting canards for Antoine Dupont and friends. France’s big forwards are impressively comfortable with ball in hand, less so if they are having to shuttle endlessly up and down the field without much rest.

So imagine this scenario for a second: Smith declining to kick everything and finding a few holes from deep. England suddenly gathering a bit of momentum, roared on by a Twickenham crowd dying for something to shout about. The hosts also now have a better balance in their back row and more experience on the bench. Strike early and maybe France’s sangfroid will desert them?

Be bold and back yourself will certainly be the theme of Borthwick’s pre-match paddock pep talk. “We’re setting the team up to play tactically the way we want them to and to be physically ready. The third thing – and I’ll say this very clearly – is that I want the players to go and attack. We aim to go and play.”

Whatever happens, England seem keen to burn some rubber.