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
Pick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
15 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
15 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
15 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
15 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
15 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
15 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
15 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to comments