What Finn Russell would do with Smith/Farrell for England vs Italy
Scotland out-half Finn Russell has waded into the debate over England continuing to select Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell as a 10/12 combination under Steve Borthwick rather than have one player as the starting out-half and the other as the bench back-up and not as the starting inside centre.
Eddie Jones last year attempted to mould Smith and Farrell as a partnership in the starting England team, naming them alongside each other in all three games on the July tour to Australia and then in all four matches of the Autumn Nations Series.
The creative edge didn’t progress as much as England fans would have liked in those seven matches, igniting a huge debate over the winter as to what new head coach Borthwick would do when the Guinness Six Nations began. In the end, Borthwick opted to continue with the Jones tactic, pairing Smith and Farrell together at 10 and 12 for the opening match versus Scotland.
With Harlequins attack coach Nick Evans now assisting Borthwick for the duration of the championship, the Smith/Farrell combination was more effective than it had been previously but with England ultimately beaten 29-23 by the Scots, there has been renewed debate about the merits of the two established club No10s starting together for England as a 10/12 partnership.
Russell was the Scottish No10 who came up against the Smith/Farrell axis last weekend at Twickenham and he has now shared his thoughts on what has become a hot topic heading in this weekend’s England game at home to Italy. Should Borthwick persist with Smith and Farrell as his 10/12 when he names his team on Friday afternoon or should one of the players be kept on the bench, enabling England to change up their midfield against the Italians?
Appearing on the latest RugbyPass Offload, Russell said: “It depends how they want to play. Marcus has got so much X-factor, Farrell has got a lot more experience and is a different player to Marcus. So I don’t know. When Marcus plays at Harlequins he has (Andre) Esterhuizen outside which is really good for the gain line so he can play quite often off the front ball, off front foot ball, but I’d say Owen can probably control a game a bit better and Marcus has got more of an X-factor around him.
“So it depends on who they are playing and how they want to play and what they might want to go with. We thought they were maybe going to go Marcus and Own with (Manu) Tuilagi, so Tuilagi can get them the go-forward and they are going to have two ball players to play with and two kicking options because they kick it a lot but when they had (Joe) Marchant there, like they have got strike runners but not as much as if they have Manu out there.
“That allowed us to stop them a bit more from first phase. Not stop their attack, they probably just didn’t get the ball they wanted. I don’t know the players that well to play alongside them, so it is hard to say what I would go with and again it’s dependent… who have they got this week? Italy.
“It might be better to go with Marcus this week with a bit of X-factor but then how Italy played (against France), it might be better to go with Farrell to maybe control the game a bit better and then Marcus coming on later on when it is a bit more open and the Italians are maybe a bit more tired.
“Like I said, I don’t know the English players that well personally so it is hard to say what the best option is. But it was hard for them first game because they had a few injuries, a couple of centres went down so it was probably tough for them to decide.”
Russell added that Scotland initially believed England would start Farrell at out-half against them before an injury ruled out Henry Slade from selection and it was then decided to omit Tuilagi and start Marchant at No13 outside Smith and Farrell.
“We heard through it was going to be Owen at 10 but then they got a couple of injuries and we then started hearing that Manu wasn’t going to be playing and it was going to be Marcus and Owen, so we weren’t really sure what team to expect.
“It was hard to prep not knowing what their team was going to be, how they were going to play and who they were going to pick. It was an interesting week’s build-up.”
- Click here to listen to the full Finn Russell interview on RugbyPass Offload
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
4 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
6 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
8 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
8 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
4 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to comments