England coach Brian Ashton names his side on Tuesday for the Six Nations clash with France. Eurosport takes a look at the options available to Ashton and who is likely to make his starting line-up.

Despite taking England to the World Cup final last year, the jury is still out on Ashton following an unimpressive showing in the Six Nations so far.

A promising first half against Wales ended in defeat in their opening match at Twickenham, while his injury-hit side only just managed to hang on against Italy in Rome a week later.

Questions over his game plan and selection will continue ahead of Saturday's Paris clash and his team announcement will reveal whether he has gone back on earlier decisions.

Ashton faces selection dilemmas in a number of positions, none more so than at full-back, hooker and scrum-half.

His decision not to include World Cup winner Josh Lewsey (pictured) in his training squad has already come back to haunt him.

Lewsey has been in fine form for his club Wasps since being dropped from the England set-up and on Saturday produced a two-try performance in a thrilling victory at Bath that had every England fan asking why he will not be on the plane to Paris.

Gloucester's Iain Balshaw was at full-back against Wales and Italy but has yet to convince his army of doubters that he has the defence - and reliability - to warrant another chance.

Lewsey, on the other hand, has a rare muscularity for a back and has been England's hero in defence on countless occasions. There were question marks over the Wasps man's attitude last year, but he is back to his best and has what it takes to bear France.

There is an argument that Lewsey's club team-mate Danny Cipriani should get a chance at full-back. Although now playing fly-half for Wasps, Cipriani spent most of last season at full-back and was instrumental in the London side's Heineken Cup success.

Cipriani has a superb boot, is strong in the tackle and has gas to spare. He may not yet be ready to claim the number 10 jersey from Jonny Wilkinson - though some think he is - but he is a more complete footballer than Balshaw and deserves to be on the pitch.

Ashton has been unfortunate with his scrum-half options. First-choice Harry Ellis is not due back from a long-term knee injury until after the tournament, while Peter Richards and Shaun Perry are both out for the remainder of the season.

Veteran Andy Gomarsall made a decent fist of the World Cup but has failed to capture the same form for Harlequins this season, where Danny Care is deservedly starting ahead of him.

Sale's number nine Richard Wigglesworth came on for Gomarsall in Rome two weeks ago, but it is London Irish's Paul Hodgson that caught the eye at the weekend.

Hodgson has been on England's radar for a season or two now and the question is whether Ashton has the courage to select his scrum-half on form?

At hooker, Ashton has also been relying on another wily veteran in the shape of Bristol's Mark Regan. But, like Gomarsall, father time appears to be catching up on the 36-year-old and he was found wanting against Italy.

Ashton has a number of options at hooker. Bath's Lee Mears and George Chuter of Leicester would appear to be the easy alternatives, as they already have plenty of England experience.

But if Ashton is basing his decisions on form, then London Irish hooker David Paice would surely come into the reckoning.

The most promising hooker in England is Dylan Hartley, currently at Northampton in National Division One. Hartley looked set to make England's World Cup squad before receiving a lengthy ban for gouging.

Hartley may only be 21, but he weighs in at over 18 stones, is extremely mobile and has great hands, as he showed when setting up a try for Tom Varndell in the Saxons' victory over Ireland A last month.

France hooker Dimitri Szarzewski won his first cap when he was younger than Hartley is now, but Ashton - who has become increasingly conservative as England coach - will no doubt claim the Stade de France is no place to blood new forwards.

Question marks also remain over Ashton's selections in the England midfield, where he has missed the presence of the unfortunate Mike Tindall, out again with injury.

The debate over Wilkinson seems to have settled down since his first-half display against Italy, but there are still doubts over his Newcastle team-mates Tony Flood and Jamie Noon.

London Irish's highly-talented Shane Geraghty would surely have been in the reckoning had a knee injury picked up last weekend not ruled him out, and there are many who would like Leicester's Danny Hipkiss back in the squad.

There also needs to be a coherent strategy for wrecking ball wing Lesley Vainikolo, who was shamefully under-used against Wales and Italy.

Ashton is likely to name a powerful XV against a France outfit who looked more than a little vulnerable up front against Ireland in the last round.

After all, it was a typically physical 'England' performance that saw them defeat Les Bleus in the semi-final of the World Cup six months ago.

The return of props Andrew Sheridan and Phil Vickery, and loose forward Joe Worsley, will certainly help on that front.

But England will need more than just bludgeoning power to win in Paris and Ashton needs to get his back-line firing and his team as a whole buying into some sort of game plan.

It is not unreasonable to suggest that Ashton's future depends on England's efforts at the Stade de France.

Likely England XV:

15-Iain Balshaw, 14-Paul Sackey, 13-Jamie Noon, 12-Toby Flood, 11-Mark Cueto, 10-Jonny Wilkinson, 9-Richard Wigglesworth; 1-Andrew Sheridan, 2-Mark Regan, 3-Phil Vickery, 4-Simon Shaw, 5-Steve Borthwick, 6-James Haskell, 7-Joe Worsley, 8-Nick Easter.

Eurosport's England XV:

15-Lewis Moody, 14-Paul Sackey, 13-Jamie Noon, 12-Jonny Wilkinson, 11-Lesley Vainikolo, 10-Danny Cipriani, 9-Paul Hodgson; 1-Andrew Sheridan, 2-Dylan Hartley, 3-Phil Vickery, 4-Simon Shaw, 5-Nick Kennedy, 6-Tom Croft, 7-Joe Worsley, 8-James Haskell.

Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport