Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Borthwick explains leaving Marcus Smith out of latest England squad

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

England head coach Steve Borthwick has explained why he felt it best to omit Marcus Smith from this week’s fallow week training camp in Brighton, the place that the Harlequins No10 calls home as it was where he was brought up. Borthwick’s 26-man squad will train at Brighton College, the school where Smith initially nurtured his potential at a teenager before signing for Quins, but he will be marked absent from the camp that lasts from Tuesday afternoon through to Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT

When Borthwick previously named a 26-man squad for the fallow week camp in London after the round two win over Italy, Smith was included along with skipper Owen Farrell who had taken the No10 jersey from him for that clash with the Azzurri.

That was the first time in 16 matches in which Smith wasn’t named as the starting England No10. Having since played less than a minute off the bench in last Saturday’s round three win away to Wales, it has now been decided that it would be for the best that he went back to Harlequins to play in their upcoming Gallagher Premiership match at home to Exeter on Saturday rather than train this week with England.

Video Spacer

Does Australia have enough talent for Eddie Jones’ ambitions | The Breakdown

Video Spacer

Does Australia have enough talent for Eddie Jones’ ambitions | The Breakdown

That decision will see Smith run out at Twickenham, the stadium Harlequins are using for their Big Game promotion that was held over from the Christmas period due to a train strike, while Ford – who was Smith’s understudy during the 2022 Six Nations when Farrell was injured – will now train with Farrell as the second No10 in this week’s England squad.

Asked to explain the logic behind his decision to release Smith from England for club duty, Borthwick said: “You make a decision on which players really need to benefit more from either being in training or game time. I decided the decision was Marcus would benefit from game time at his club this weekend and having that match sharpness. That is why I decided that decision.”

Related

Does this now leave Ford as the front-runner to be in the England match day 23 versus France on March 11? “I picked a squad for a fallow week training camp and made a decision on what every player needs. I’m not picking a squad for next week. That squad will be decided and distributed as it normally is on Sunday evening as the squad assembles for Test week,” continued Borthwick.

“We are not in Test week, we are in a training camp week where I felt the best decision for Marcus is to get some game time. George had played for his club [Sale] at the weekend, so this is an opportunity for Marcus to go and play. He had very limited game time because of the nature of the game (versus Wales) and the decision I made on Saturday, so I thought this was a step forward.

ADVERTISEMENT

“This is an opportunity for me to work with George over the next couple of days. We are blessed we have got some fantastic fly-halves in this country, with Owen and his ability to play at 12 as well, Marcus, George Ford, and I was on the phone to Fin Smith yesterday [Monday] as well – he is a brilliant young player, so we are blessed with plenty good options there.

“On a weekly basis, you are here making a decision on what is the right thing for the player this week to be ready to play for England. For all our players I am making those decisions. For some it is game time, for others it is to be in training camp here.”

Borthwick was Ford’s club coach at Leicester last year when Tigers won the Premiership title. Ford was seriously injured in that final and he only returned to play earlier this month for Sale, the club he joined last summer. What has the England coach made of Ford’s club return so far, and what message did he give to Smith about playing for Harlequins next Saturday?

“George has come back from injury and being out for some time, he is looking tremendously sharp. That shows the work he has done in terms of his rehab there and recovery from injury. He is looking in great, great condition and he is clearly a very experienced player.

ADVERTISEMENT

“That adds to the strength we have in that position. I’m looking forward to seeing Marcus play this weekend, and Fin Smith has been in camp and I have been hugely impressed. It shows the position where we are blessed to have a number of top-quality players.

“For any player when they are playing for their club, I want them to play like they are Test match players. That gives the very best to their club, which is really important to these players and the supporters of those clubs. That also puts them in the best situation to be ready to play Test match rugby. Just get as close to playing Test match rugby – that is the message I constantly give to players who are playing for their clubs.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

39 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness' Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness'
Search