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Borthwick explains why Marcus Smith is starting for England at No15
Steve Borthwick has explained his gamble to start Marcus Smith at full-back for only the second time ever in his England career for this Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final versus Fiji in Marseille.
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The promotion of Smith from the bench at the expense of the excluded Freddie Steward was the big talking point on Friday afternoon on Aix-en-Provence when the head coach held his team announcement media briefing.
Moving on from the nerve-wracking one-point pool win over Samoa last Saturday in Lille, Borthwick opted to make two changes in total to his backline and name an unchanged pack.
However, while the naming of Smith at No15 in place of the axed Steward is a straightforward swap, the inclusion of the recalled Elliot Daly on the left wing – with out-half George Ford dropping to the bench – had a domino effect across the three-quarters as four players have had their positions changes.
Jonny May, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi and skipper Owen Farrell respectively started last weekend in the No11, 14, 13 and 12 jerseys but they will run out this Sunday wearing No 14, 13, 12 and 10 after Borthwick decided to run with Farrell at out-half in place of Ford and go with a midfield of Tuilagi and Marchant.
Asked to explain his selection deliberations, the head coach began: “We have got a squad that is fully fit and everyone raring to go so there is some great selections to make and this team is the right team to play against Fiji on Sunday.
“It’s great to have this blend of strengths to start this game and the guys coming on to finish the game. We have got a very strong bench also. Having this combination of Manu and Joe Marchant played real well in the centres together.
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“Owen has played a lot of games with Manu at 10/12 as well and the way Marcus in each of the games has come on and started at full-back, he has added enormously so he deserves this start for this game the way we want to play.”
Focusing specifically on out-half Smith getting his start at full-back, Borthwick said: “It was discussed some months ago through the Rugby World Cup preparation camps and having time with the players enables you to work on certain aspects and develop certain aspects which has been brilliant.
“Marcus has really embraced the opportunity. You start look at the strength of the players we have in our back three available to us, it’s great to have the different combinations and this starting back three is the right one for the game this weekend.
“I talked about positional flexibility, having the players able to play at the highest level in multiple positions is an incredible strength in a World Cup like the man next to me [Farrell], his ability to perform so well at either 10 or 12, and Marcus’ ability to play 10 or 15 is another sign of strength in this squad.
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“Marcus has played a lot of times at 15 now for us this last period of time, through August and this World Cup coming on in plenty of games to finish them. He is also now an experienced international rugby player and as I say this team is the right team for what we need to do this weekend.
“We all see what a top quality rugby player he is and I have seen in many players in the squad, I have seen growth and development. Having the opportunity to work with the players for a period of time enables that to happen.”
New England No15 Marcus Smith perfects his step at training in Aix-en-Provence ahead of Sunday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final. #ENGvFIJ #RWC2023 #EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/ASxSII88jB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 13, 2023
The mood at the team selection media briefing was mostly upbeat but the suggestion to Borthwick that Ford had been dropped needled the coach. “George changes his role to the bench, George changes his role to the bench, he changes his role to the bench,” he repeated about the out-half who was the player of the match last month versus Argentina and Japan but will now wear the No22 shirt against Fiji.
“I meet with all the players around selection and the reasons behind it, the thought process behind it and why we are choosing what to do. George has been brilliant throughout this whole tournament so far, been really excellent but his role is slightly different now, he’s coming on to finish the game. Again, he has been brilliant in the training week.
“As I say, look at the quality of players we have available to us, we have a lot of really good players who aren’t starting. We could talk a lot about George, talk a lot about Ben Youngs not starting, Freddie Steward, there’s a lot of top quality players, Henry Arundell. It shows the strength of this squad.”
Switching to the midfield, where England have reprised the midfield partnership of Tuilagi and Marchant which started the wins over Argentina and Japan, Borthwick said: “You have got this great blend in the centre with Manu and Joe. You have got the power in the carry and defensive strength that Manu brings, you’ve got incredible running, the outside break that Joe brings going from one side of the field to the other to create overloads.
“The connection he brings with the outside backs in defence, that’s a really good blend and as you look at this 10, 12, 13, it has got brilliant strengths within it and we know they pose a lot of challenges and we have talked a lot about what they bring, I think this is the right combination of players.”
Despite last weekend’s underwhelming effort in the one-point win over Samoa, Borthwick sounded optimistic that England are capable of beating a Fijian side that they lost to 22-30 only seven weeks in a Summer Nations Series fixture at Twickenham.
“This is knockout rugby and these players will embrace this challenge and really rise to the occasion. That is my expectation and that is what they have done through out this tournament and I expect them to rise again Sunday against Fiji.
“There is a lot of players here who have experienced knockout rugby before, there is a lot of players who have lifted a lot of trophies at different times in their careers, so my expectation is they will be rising to the occasion.
“There was plenty of things we discussed at length post the game (in August). We were very clear that was part of our build up towards the tournament and we learned a lot of lessons. Now, the team has moved a bit since that point of time.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Think it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
237 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
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