England coach Eddie Jones is backing Maro Itoje to fill Chris Robshaw's shoes and make a big impression against France in Saturday's RBS 6 Nations opener at Twickenham.

Itoje switches from second row to make his first start at blindside flanker in the absence of Robshaw, who has played a key role in England's run of 14 unbeaten matches since Jones took charge and is sidelined by a shoulder injury.

Jones has no doubts that Itoje will make the switch a success as England begin their title defence against Guy Noves' improving side.

"He (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."

England will be without George Kruis, ruled out of the France match on Wednesday by a knee injury sustained in training.

"George is with the surgeon now and we should get more information on him this afternoon," said Jones.

"We haven't given up hope of him featuring in the Six Nations."

Kruis' absence and Itoje's move to the back row to play alongside Nathan Hughes and Tom Wood means Joe Launchbury is reinstated to the second row alongside Courtney Lawes.

Jones has opted to start with Elliot Daly on the left wing ahead of Jack Nowell, who missed Tuesday's training sessions due to personal reasons and was only back in the England camp on Thursday.

Nowell starts on the bench with Daly, sent off for tackling Leonardo Senatore in the air in the autumn international against Argentina, getting the nod ahead of him.

Explaining the selection, Jones said: "Elliot did superbly for us in the autumn. 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."

Maro Itoje has impressed for Saracens this season (Getty)

Jones welcomed the return of prop Joe Marler from a fractured leg to face the French.

"He was the form loosehead of the last Six Nations. He has been through rigorous training and looks mentally and physically ready to go."

Despite the injury problems he has had to contend with Jones insists he is happy with his starting line-up.

"We've been able to select a very strong and experienced team to play against France and we are excited to get the tournament under way," he said.

"France have been improving steadily under Guy Noves. They have really got the passion back into their game. We have to be very rigorous and disciplined in the way we play. We have a very strong bench to finish it off for us."

Joe Marler starts for England after just three legs with a fractured leg (Getty)

Nowell's presence on the bench is an unfortunate development for the Cornishman, who had been in superb form after battling back from thumb and thigh injuries to thrust him on to the brink of a recall before personal circumstances intervened.

James Haskell features among the replacements despite having played less than an hour since returning from a seven-month absence because of toe surgery.

There is no second-row option on the bench as Itoje can switch position if needed.

England will register a national record 15th successive victory if they dispatch France and will surpass New Zealand's milestone of 19 Test wins if they repeat last year's Grand Slam.

"There's a great rivalry between the countries so we're looking forward to a great occasion playing against one of England's oldest foes," Jones said.

Itoje has been tipped as one for the future (Getty)

"In rugby terms you've traditionally got two contrasting styles - French flair and England's dogged conservative approach - but we want to be absolutely daring against the French in this first game and set the standard for the tournament.

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

"We want to get better all of the time, we are ambitious and we want to be the number one team in the world.

"It's exciting to be back at Twickenham. We've got great supporters and we're looking forward to hearing them turn the volume up on Saturday."