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The 'seething' reply Mike Brown gave when asked about Marcus Smith
Former Test full-back Mike Brown has admitted that he understands why England are currently selecting Owen Farrell as their No10 but he reckoned Marcus Smith would have been seething to only get a few seconds off the bench in the Guinness Six Nations win over Wales.
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The 20-10 victory over the Welsh was already in the 80th minute when head coach Steve Borthwick made a triple substitution for the final play, sending on Smith, Henry Arundell and Jack Walker for what essentially were token caps.
This lack of involvement has resulted in Smith returning to Harlequins to get some Gallagher Premiership game time this Saturday ahead of preparations for the March 11 England match at home to France.
Asked on RugbyPass Offload how p***ed of Smith would have been at getting approximately 28 seconds for England versus Wales, Brown said: “Knowing Marcus the way I do, he is ultra-competitive – that is what makes him so good – so he will be seething.
“He wants to be the main man. He wants to be out there, he wants to be representing England. That is why he works so hard. He is an ultra-competitor as well, he wants to be in the battle, in the competition.
“Yeah, he would have been desperate to get on as soon as possible. I didn’t get that, going on for that short amount of time. The only thing I could think was they could have got a bonus point and they had a scrum and maybe they thought they could get something out the backside and go the length and get that bonus point when the game was already wrapped up.”
Currently at Leicester, Brown was a teammate of Smith at Harlequins before moving to Newcastle in the summer of 2021. He was also a long-time colleague of Farrell with England, so he is perfectly placed to discuss the merits of the current Test selection where Farrell is now the starting No10 with Smith on the bench.
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“To be fair to Owen he has started this season with Saracens unbelievably well. He dipped off last season and I definitely was one of his critics, but he has been brilliant for Sarries at the start of this year whereas Marcus had a few injuries and probably hasn’t hit the ground running as much as he would like to.
“If you are going on form, probably Owen. If you are going off the way they [England] want to play, clearly it’s Owen and he is the captain. They [Smith and Farrell as a 10/12 combination] definitely weren’t working well together. I said that from the off knowing the personalities they have and the way they like to play, it just clashes.
“So it wasn’t working and I am glad Steve has made that big decision – you put one of them at 10 and the other one on the bench. Unfortunately for Marcus at the moment it’s Owen (who is starting). Things can change but I can’t see it happening at the moment.
“If you look at that backline, if you had Jack van Poortvliet, Marcus and Ollie (Lawrence), it’s quite a young, inexperienced nine, 10, 12 as well so that probably plays on the coach’s mind, especially with such a short time where they have got to get some wins and confidence.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
I wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
1 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
4 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks 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.
23 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.
11 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!
80 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
23 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
11 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
3 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.
23 Go to comments