3 hot takes as England talk up a bench with Marcus Smith on it
England have yet to convince on the field under new head coach Steve Borthwick but no one can accuse him of staging dull team selection media briefings. Last week’s bombshell was the axing of Manu Tuilagi from the match day 23 to face Scotland in the opening round of the Guinness Six Nations.
This week it was the turn of Marcus Smith to be the hot topic, the regular No10 getting dropped to the bench for Sunday’s round two game at home to Italy. Here are three RugbyPass hot takes on the selection announced on Friday:
The Slade and Ollie show
It was seemingly a desire to pair Henry Slade with Ollie Lawrence as a midfield partnership that did for Smith at No10. There was no direct admission from Borthwick about the shortcomings of the Smith/Owen Farrell 10/12 alliance that had started as a partnership in the last eight England games, a run where there were three wins, a draw and four defeats.
“We have got some exciting players there in the centre and that is why I decided to make the change,” he said, sidestepping who he had picked Farrell ahead of Smith as his No10.
Given the coach had boxed himself into a corner by naming Farrell last month as his captain for the championship, it was perhaps an easier conversation for Borthwick to bench Smith rather than demote the England leader he so publicly vouched for just 25 days earlier.
We’ll have more about Smith anon, but what about Slade and Lawrence as a combo? They have previously started four Test matches as a 12/13 partnership, beating Georgia, Ireland and the USA but infamously crashing against Scotland two years ago in the Six Nations. That was a match where they lined out with Farrell as the chosen 10 and so dire was the service, Lawrence didn’t get a ball to run onto until about an hour had been played.
The moral of that ill-fated escapade is to get possession beyond Farrell. Otherwise, it doesn’t really matter who wears the No12 and 13 jerseys. Time for the captain to make this England attack tick.
Marcus the sub
November 2021 versus Tonga was the one and only time that Smith was named on the England bench. The reason that week was that he hadn’t trained fully but ever since then, he made the No10 shirt his own and had started in 15 consecutive Test matches. Now he is back in the reserves after a high-profile demotion and how he reacts to having a restricted role in proceedings will be eagerly watched on Sunday.
Italy have a reputation for tiring in the latter stages of matches, an assumption that has been flawed in recent times. Look at how they ambushed Wales 11 months ago in the closing minutes and also see how they kicked a penalty to touch to attack off a maul inside the 22 in the final play last Sunday against France when trailing by just five points.
They have the gas necessary to go the full 80, yet Borthwick sounded like he was purring when questioned on the potency that England should now wield with Smith named on their bench this weekend and not as a starter.
“Look at the talent that is on the bench, the replacements there,” he enthused. “You look at Alex Mitchell, you look at the pace he brings into a game, the linebreak he brings around the ruck, the speed of pass he has.
“You then look at Marcus and all the strengths that he brings, his ability to find space, and then Henry Arundell. From looking at that, that is a very exciting blend to be able to change a game, change the way you want to play within the game. It’s brilliant.
“And then there are some pretty good forwards on the bench. One or two of them are not quite as young, but I thought Dan Cole came off the bench and had an immediate impact that I was very pleased to see last week.”
Jack’s back
It’s fair to say the international career of Jack Willis has never been the same since that awful knee injury suffered two years when he was crocodile rolled at a ruck just minutes after scoring against Italy in the Six Nations. The 26-year-old has played for England since then, three times in fact off the bench, but has yet to look his best.
A cameo in the third Test away to Australia last July 17 months after his dreadful injury marked his comeback, but two more appearances as a sub in the recent Autumn Nations Series didn’t go well as he was without a club at the time after the collapse of Wasps and wasn’t anywhere near the top of his game.
This Sunday, though, the expectation will be for Willis to at last be every bit as good as he used to be pre-injury. He has been moving through the gears over at Toulouse in recent months and now gets an England start, taking over the No7 jersey vacated by Ben Curry. Borthwick can’t wait.
“Since I took this role, I spoke to Jack every week out in Toulouse watching and seeing how hard he has worked,” said the England coach. “He is a player who had a knock and wasn’t playing for the first few weeks of January, but he has worked tremendously hard to get to this point. Delighted for him.
“He has had to manage things. It was very clear (from the French) he couldn’t stay for the full training week, he is then gone and played for his club. He has come back in and trained again for us and gone and played for his club again, and he has managed all those demands in a really mature, professional manner. He adds to a really competitive back row that we have here. Lots of good players fighting for those shirts.”
England (vs Italy, Sunday – 3pm): F Steward (Leicester); M Malins (Saracens), H Slade (Exeter), O Lawrence (Bath), O Hassell-Collins (London Irish); O Farrell (Saracens, capt), J van Poortvliet (Leicester); E Genge (Bristol), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Bristol), M Itoje (Saracens), O Chessum (Leicester), L Ludlam (Northampton), J Willis (Toulouse), A Dombrandt (Harlequins). Reps: J Walker (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester), N Isiekwe (Saracens), B Earl (Saracens), A Mitchell (Northampton), M Smith (Harlequins), H Arundell (London Irish).
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
20 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
9 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
78 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
20 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
9 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
16 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
20 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
20 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
20 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
2 Go to comments