Andy Goode: I don't agree with Borthwick's boldest selection call
Steve Borthwick has made some bold calls with his first England team selection but sticking with the Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell combination is still the biggest.
I don’t agree with it and think Farrell is a fly half and one whose form deserves being given the number 10 jersey but hopefully the pair will finally be given the tools and licence to flourish alongside one another. That includes the Saracens man playing like an inside centre.
He might not be able to crash the ball up like Andre Esterhuizen does for Harlequins but if the combination is to succeed, Farrell does need to provide a ball carrying option for Smith at times and he needs to think more like a number 12.
It’s hard to criticise Farrell for thinking like a fly half when he’s one of the most successful players England have ever had in that position but Smith needs to be able to drive the attack and maybe the pieces are in place outside the 10/12 axis for him to do that.
He has his clubmates, who will instinctively know his game inside out, around him in the key positions with Alex Dombrandt at number eight and Joe Marchant at outside centre and, crucially, Nick Evans is the man overseeing England’s attacking game now.
The Harlequins and now England assistant coach has spoken a lot about clarity and players understanding their roles and that is what has been missing in the eight Tests we’ve seen Smith and Farrell start together, with the offensive side of the game often looking muddled.
The absence of Manu Tuilagi has made some waves and there’s no doubt the opposition players will be relieved not to have to consider the prospect of him running down their channel but Marchant’s relationship with Smith might just be the key to make things click.
Tuilagi does often draw in several defenders at once, leaving space for others to operate in, and the lack of a big ball carrier at inside centre as well means there might be an onus on Ollie Hassell-Collins and Freddie Steward as the more sizeable members of the backline to get more involved and get England over the gainline.
Marchant didn’t think he’d ever play for his country again under Eddie Jones, to the extent that he’s signed a deal to join Stade Francais and end his international career next season, but his form for Quins has been excellent and he deserves another shot.
Borthwick was at pains to point out this week that Farrell has played at centre in some of the best performances for England and the British & Irish Lions but none of those have been in the last few years and I just think it’s a bit much to be drawing on the 2019 World Cup or the 2017 Lions tour when it comes to selection.
We’ll never know whether this was always the plan or if it’s Plan B because of the injury to Dan Kelly, who was integral to Leicester’s success under Borthwick last season, but this is the ninth time Smith and Farrell are starting alongside one another and they have to start firing soon or it’ll be an experiment consigned to the scrap heap.
Elsewhere, the make-up of the back row is the interesting with Ben Earl again unlucky to miss out after being arguably the best player in the Premiership over the past year or so but club form is being rewarded.
In the absence of his brother, Ben Curry has been tearing up trees for Sale and has earned the opportunity to add to the one cap he won against the USA 18 months ago and Lewis Ludlam has really developed his game in a leadership role at Northampton.
With Ollie Chessum alongside Maro Itoje in the second row, it’s more of an orthodox looking back five in the forwards as well with no square pegs in round holes.
Borthwick has been trying to portray his excitement this week but all the focus is on the players and he has spoken about allowing them to play to their strengths and do what they do for their clubs.
That’s applicable to all positions but most of the spotlight is always going to be on the number 10 jersey and even more so when you pick two of them together in the same team and they haven’t yet hit it off.
As a fly half, you have to read the game, manage it and implement the plan but Smith’s main strength is playing with freedom and with his head up, not being afraid to get his goosestep out and finding often unconventional ways to put others through holes.
Borthwick may not always look like the most excited figure but he’s right, there’s a huge amount of excitement around this Calcutta Cup match. It’s mouthwatering enough most years now Scotland are so competitive in it but the intrigue around how England are going to play adds even more appeal.
You’ve got a sprinkling of Leicester players and a lot of people assuming that Borthwick will adopt a similar style to the one he did at Tigers with plenty of kicking but with a core of Saracens men and then some Quins in key positions in attack.
It’ll be up to the players to shine at Twickenham but there’s no greater man for detail than Borthwick so they should be well prepared and you don’t have to look any further than his right-hand man for motivation.
You don’t need any extra incentive when it comes to playing the Auld Enemy but Kevin Sinfield is about the most inspirational bloke on the planet at the moment and players are sure to want to run through brick walls for him.
Scotland have had their hands on the Calcutta Cup in four of the last five years, after a period where they’d won it just three times in 27 years, so I genuinely think they should be arriving as favourites.
That feeling of a fresh regime is an intangible that adds something to England’s cause, though, and Twickenham can’t get much lower and more subdued than it was at the end of the autumn. Borthwick has spoken about reconnecting with fans and getting them excited again and you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
While I can’t shake the feeling that I don’t think the Smith/Farrell axis works, although I hope to be proven wrong this weekend, I just think England might have enough to get over the line and I’m going for a home win by three.
Comments on RugbyPass
Great story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
39 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
39 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
39 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to comments