Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

3 hot takes as Steve Borthwick names England team to host France

Ellis Genge (right) embraces Owen Farrell in Wales last month (Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

It’s been the quite the week for Steve Borthwick and England. He came under fire for cutting Marcus Smith loose from the training squad last week. Now, he has ignited another fiery blaze, this time naming Smith as No10 starter this Saturday versus France and benching skipper Owen Farrell. Here are three RugbyPass hot takes on his Guinness Six Nations round four team announcement:

ADVERTISEMENT

Nostradamus Matson
Hats off to Tabai Matson, the Harlequins coach. It was eight days ago in a Guildford hotel when he calmly shot the breeze regarding the dramatic release of Smith to the London club following his unexpected omission from the fallow week England training squad.

By then there had already been a massive 24-hour media fuss made about the Borthwick decision to cut Smith and run his eye instead over George Ford, a selection that was generally negatively portrayed as the potential end for Smith.

Video Spacer
Video Spacer

The player’s club coach, though, wasn’t buying any of that rhetoric, instead suggesting: “I don’t think not being in training camp is going to hinder him on that and ultimately it might enhance it.” How Nostradamus-like right was he with that ‘win-win’ prediction.

Eight days later, Smith was vaulted straight back into the England No10 jersey rather than being made surplus to requirement to the match day 23, and Matson would have been well within his rights to allow himself a hearty chuckle.

Related

Borthwick didn’t go into the exact nuts and bolts regarding his specific reasons for ringing this major change to his Test team. There was an admission that goal-kicking wasn’t a decisive factor, the head coach stating at his team announcement media briefing that Farrell was “kicking brilliantly this week in training”.

There was also a claim that Smith running alongside Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade in the 10/12/13 combination was “the right blend” this week, a curious description given the amount of commentary highlighting the supposed merits of having the experienced Farrell playing at 10 in between the inexperienced Lawrence and scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet.

ADVERTISEMENT

Otherwise, Borthwick was as diplomatic as he could be about the drama of dropping his England skipper to the bench. There was a reference that “Owen has been brilliant” regarding his demotion, that he “cares so deeply about this team”. But there was nothing given away by the head coach regarding what qualities Smith might bring to the No10 role on Saturday instead of Farrell.

What piqued the interest, though, was how Borthwick made a point in his final answer at the briefing of dismissing the description of picking Smith ahead of Farrell as a bold call.

Despite notable February selections such as axing the likes of Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs from the match day 23, the recall from the wilderness of veteran sub Dan Cole and so on, the England boss has been given the label of ‘Conservative Steve’ due to his constant emphasis on his team getting better at their basics.

This ‘brilliant basics’ mantra was interpreted as unambitious, yet you have to give Borthwick kudos for his gutsy approach towards areas of his selection, something he feels is a trait of his.

ADVERTISEMENT

“If you were to track all the teams I selected over the last few years, there were some pretty bold decisions,” suggested the ex-Leicester boss. “I’ll leave it to you to track back to last year’s final, have a look at the selection.”

He got it right on that occasion, Leicester beating Saracens to a title they were the underdogs for, and he sounded on Thursday like a coach who has every confidence of being proven right again this Saturday with his latest selection.

Related

The Dave rave
Quitting your national team for club rugby in France can be a tricky business. Look at how swiftly Simon Zebo was frozen out of Ireland’s plans in the 2017/18 season when it was confirmed before the 2017 November internationals that he would leave Munster for Racing in the summer of 2018.

Signing a French deal, though, hasn’t been viewed as a negative by Borthwick, judging  by how the Toulon-bound David Ribbans has been named on this weekend’s England bench.

It took the Northampton-based South African several years to finally convince Eddie Jones he was worth a Test level shot and he played three times in the recent Autumn Nations Series. Then came the announcement that he is quitting the Premiership for the Top 14, a decision that will end his Test career once gets started at Toulon.

Knowing Ribbans’ future is away from England post the Rugby World Cup, Borthwick could have decided the lock wasn’t worth his consideration, but the head coach is currently very much a week-to-week operator across this Six Nations and the 27-year-old is now primed for a run from the championship bench having been named as the replacement for the injured Courtney Lawes.

“He has been champing at the bit for the opportunity,” reported Borthwick. “He has been training really well and I thought watching him play his last game for Northampton, he played really well there. It is an opportunity for Dave, it’s an opportunity for us to keep moving forward.”

There was no insightful update, though, on the seriousness of Lawes’ latest injury setback. The only reference made to him came when Borthwick was discussing why he gave the captaincy to Ellis Genge. “Unfortunately, Courtney Lawes had to leave the squad this week due to injury, another brilliant leader,” he said.

Related

The wrong tracks hero
The bunting should be out this weekend in Knowle West in honour of Genge skippering England for the first time. It’s quite the achievement for the 28-year-old Bristolian, someone that Jones regularly referred to as hailing from the wrong side of the tracks.

Genge has been well-spoken over the years about how rugby in England needs to broaden its base and start breaking into more working-class communities. It was a topic he specifically addressed in one particular RugbyPass interview, that football was way ahead regarding its recruitment compared to rugby.

“It is rugby’s biggest downfall,” he claimed at the time. “That is why football is doing so well. You see footballers today being so incredible at the ages of 11, 12 and you see footballers signing contracts so early. Everyone is like, ‘It’s ridiculous’. But it’s not. It’s just investing in their youth and grassroots in the sport.

“Football is looking into primary schools around the country, looking as deep as it can in some of these estates. I’m not saying every footballer comes from an estate, but I’m saying they are looking long and far whereas rugby over the past 10 years, I think everyone agrees, has been very narrow-minded in the whole scouting system.”

Some England fans might feel appointing Genge as Saturday’s skipper is a risk, the insinuation being that he is a bit of a hot head. But he isn’t. If he was you could be sure that Borthwick, who appointed Genge as his Leicester skipper, would not be giving him this honour.

“Ellis Genge is a fantastic leader, is a natural leader and is somebody players follow… I’m delighted for him,” enthused Borthwick on Thursday. Quite the compliment for a player whose upbringing was very different to so many of his England teammates.

ENGLAND (vs France, Saturday – 4:45): 15. F Steward (Leicester Tigers); 14. M Malins (Saracens), 13. H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), 12. O Lawrence (Bath Rugby), 11. A Watson (Leicester Tigers); 10. M Smith (Harlequins), 9. J van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers); 1. E Genge (Bristol Bears, capt), 2. J George (Saracens), 3. K Sinckler (Bristol Bears), 4. M Itoje (Saracens), 5. O Chessum (Leicester Tigers), 6. L Ludlam (Northampton Saints), 7, J Willis (Toulouse), 8. A Dombrandt (Harlequins). Reps: 16. J Walker (Harlequins), 17. M Vunipola (Saracens), 18. D Cole (Leicester Tigers), 19. D Ribbans (Northampton Saints), 20. B Curry (Sale Sharks), 21. A Mitchell (Northampton Saints), 22. O Farrell (Saracens), 23. H Arundell (London Irish).

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

Singapore SVNS | Day 1

Boks Office | Episode 39 | The Investec Champions Cup is back

Argentina v France | HSBC SVNS Hong Kong 2025 | Men's Match Highlights

New Zealand v Australia | HSBC SVNS Hong Kong 2025 | Women's Match Highlights

Tokyo Sungoliath vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

Reds vs Force | Super Rugby W 2025 | Full Match Replay

The Rise of Kenya | The Report

New Zealand in Hong Kong | Brady Rush | Sevens Wonders | Episode 4

The Fixture: How This Rugby Rivalry Has Lasted 59 Years

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 3 hours ago
French bid to poach 109kg 17-year-old dual-code Aussie prospect Heinz Lemoto

Yes that’s what WR needs to look at. Football had the same problem with european powerhouses getting all the latin talent then you’re gaurenteed to get the odd late bloomer (21/22 etc, all the best footballers can play for the country much younger to get locked) star changing his allegiance.


They used youth rep selection for locking national elifibilty at one point etc. Then later only counted residency after the age of 18 (make clubs/nations like in this case wait even longer).


That’s what I’m talking about, not changing allegiance in rugby (were it can only be captured by the senior side), where it is still the senior side. Oh yeah, good point about CJ, so in most cases we probably want kids to be able to switch allegiance, were say someone like Lemoto could rep Tonga (if he wasn’t so good) but still play for Australia’s seniors, while in someone like Kite’s (the last aussie kid to go to France) case he’ll be French qualified via 5 years residency at the age of 21, so France to lock him up before Aussie even get a chance to select him. But if we use footballs regulations, who I’m suggesting WR need to get their a into g replicating, he would only start his 5 years once he turns 18 or whatever, meaning 23 yo is as soon as anyone can switch, and when if they’re good enough teams like NZ and Aus can select them (France don’t give a f, they select anybody just to lock them).

9 Go to comments
J
JW 4 hours ago
Kyren Taumoefolau All Blacks stance splits opinions on eligibility

The only benefit of the draft idea is league competitiveness. There would be absolutely no commercial value in a draft with rugby’s current interest levels.


I wonder what came first in america? I’m assuming it’s commercial aspect just built overtime and was a side effect essentially.


But the idea is not without merit as a goal. The first step towards being able to implement a draft being be creating it’s source of draftees. Where would you have the players come from? NFL uses college, and players of an age around 22 are generally able to step straight into the NFL. Baseball uses School and kids (obviously nowhere near pro level being 3/4 years younger) are sent to minor league clubs for a few years, the equivalent of the Super Rugby academies. I don’t think the latter is possible legally, and probably the most unethical and pointless, so do we create a University scene that builds on and up from the School scene? There is a lot of merit in that and it would tie in much better with our future partners in Japan and America.


Can we used the club scene and dispose of the Super Rugby academies? The benefit of this is that players have no association to their Super side, ie theyre not being drafted elshwere after spending time as a Blues or Chiefs player etc, it removes the negative of investing in a player just to benefit another club. The disadvantage of course is that now the players have nowhere near the quality of coaching and each countries U20s results will suffer (supposedly).


Or are we just doing something really dirty and making a rule that the only players under the age of 22 (that can sign a pro contract..) that a Super side can contract are those that come from the draft? Any player wanting to upgrade from an academy to full contract has to opt into the draft?

34 Go to comments
J
Joy B 5 hours ago
Sempéré salue ces joueurs qui préfèrent jouer plutôt que prendre des vacances

When life gives you reasons to be sad, say No and Make the world know that you have more than a thousand reasons to smile. I almost gave up on my quest of finding a permanent cure to this nasty virus called HIV. I never thought i would be HIV negative again after been diagnosed in 2018, i have tried everything possible in life from one doctor to another, one hospital to another, series of tests, different kinds of medication, i had already lost hope until i melt Mara Clifton who kindly told me about DR ODIGIE who do cure difference virus by the preparation of herbs and roots. I searched about the DR online which leads me to different testimonies about the great herbal DR. I decided to make up my mind to give him a try, I contacted his email that was given in the post and I followed him with all seriousness and I did all he instructed me and he sent me a herbal medicine which i took for 14 days. After the 14th day dr ODIGIE told me to go for another test to confirm my new hiv status. To my greatest surprise, the disease that seemed incurable disappeared within 14 days of using his herbal remedy. I am writing this here in order to put you in the know that there is a cure for this virus. It is time to stop believing in the medical doctors who say to us there is no cure for Cancer, Herpes, Hiv and many more viruses. I just want you to know that if you are going through any health challenge, contact this man and follow his instructions diligently and have a disease free life. his email is (drodigiehealthcure@gmail.com) safe your life today because healthy health is wealth and a good health worth more than wealth famous, so please get back your health by getting in touch with DR ODIGIE kindly get him contacted by emailing him or call/Whatsapp on (+2347049458624

0 Go to comments
J
Joy B 5 hours ago
The story of Romania's Mariana Lucescu: The Stejarii ‘Madame Rugby’

When life gives you reasons to be sad, say No and Make the world know that you have more than a thousand reasons to smile. I almost gave up on my quest of finding a permanent cure to this nasty virus called HIV. I never thought i would be HIV negative again after been diagnosed in 2018, i have tried everything possible in life from one doctor to another, one hospital to another, series of tests, different kinds of medication, i had already lost hope until i melt Mara Clifton who kindly told me about DR ODIGIE who do cure difference virus by the preparation of herbs and roots. I searched about the DR online which leads me to different testimonies about the great herbal DR. I decided to make up my mind to give him a try, I contacted his email that was given in the post and I followed him with all seriousness and I did all he instructed me and he sent me a herbal medicine which i took for 14 days. After the 14th day dr ODIGIE told me to go for another test to confirm my new hiv status. To my greatest surprise, the disease that seemed incurable disappeared within 14 days of using his herbal remedy. I am writing this here in order to put you in the know that there is a cure for this virus. It is time to stop believing in the medical doctors who say to us there is no cure for Cancer, Herpes, Hiv and many more viruses. I just want you to know that if you are going through any health challenge, contact this man and follow his instructions diligently and have a disease free life. his email is (drodigiehealthcure@gmail.com) safe your life today because healthy health is wealth and a good health worth more than wealth famous, so please get back your health by getting in touch with DR ODIGIE kindly get him contacted by emailing him or call/Whatsapp on (+2347049458624

9 Go to comments
J
Joy B 5 hours ago
Scotland's Jade Konkel: 'We need to take our game to the next level'

When life gives you reasons to be sad, say No and Make the world know that you have more than a thousand reasons to smile. I almost gave up on my quest of finding a permanent cure to this nasty virus called HIV. I never thought i would be HIV negative again after been diagnosed in 2018, i have tried everything possible in life from one doctor to another, one hospital to another, series of tests, different kinds of medication, i had already lost hope until i melt Mara Clifton who kindly told me about DR ODIGIE who do cure difference virus by the preparation of herbs and roots. I searched about the DR online which leads me to different testimonies about the great herbal DR. I decided to make up my mind to give him a try, I contacted his email that was given in the post and I followed him with all seriousness and I did all he instructed me and he sent me a herbal medicine which i took for 14 days. After the 14th day dr ODIGIE told me to go for another test to confirm my new hiv status. To my greatest surprise, the disease that seemed incurable disappeared within 14 days of using his herbal remedy. I am writing this here in order to put you in the know that there is a cure for this virus. It is time to stop believing in the medical doctors who say to us there is no cure for Cancer, Herpes, Hiv and many more viruses. I just want you to know that if you are going through any health challenge, contact this man and follow his instructions diligently and have a disease free life. his email is (drodigiehealthcure@gmail.com) safe your life today because healthy health is wealth and a good health worth more than wealth famous, so please get back your health by getting in touch with DR ODIGIE kindly get him contacted by emailing him or call/Whatsapp on (+2347049458624

1 Go to comments
M
Mary Richardson 5 hours ago
'He understands the Tigers DNA': Ex-CEO Simon Cohen's pick for head coach

I never thought I would fall victim to an online scam—especially not one that would cost me $200,000. As someone who has always been careful with investments, I did my due diligence before committing to what I believed was a legitimate trading platform. The website looked professional, the customer support was responsive, and everything seemed to check out. The company even had testimonials from supposed investors who had made incredible returns. Encouraged by these success stories, I decided to invest. I started with a small amount, and within weeks, I saw what appeared to be significant profits in my account. Every time I checked, my balance was growing, and when I made a small withdrawal, it was processed without issue. This gave me even more confidence in the platform, leading me to invest larger sums over time.Eventually, my total investment reached $200,000. That’s when things took a drastic turn. When I attempted to make a substantial withdrawal, I was suddenly met with delays, excuses, and new “fees” that I needed to pay before accessing my funds. Then, without warning, my account was locked, and all communication from the company ceased. It was then that I realized I had been scammed. I was devastated. Losing that much money felt like my world had collapsed. I contacted banks, reported the fraud, and even reached out to law enforcement, but there was little they could do. Just when I was losing hope, I came across PRO WIZARD GILBERT RECOVERY—a team specializing in recovering funds lost to online scams.Skeptical but desperate, I decided to give them a chance. From the very first conversation, their team was professional, knowledgeable, and confident they could help. Using advanced cyber-tracing techniques, they tracked down the scammers’ digital footprints, identified fraudulent transactions, and worked tirelessly to retrieve my lost funds.  To my amazement, within weeks, PRO WIZARD GILBERT RECOVERY successfully recovered my $200,000! I couldn’t believe it. What seemed like an impossible situation turned into a second chance, all thanks to their expertise and dedication.I’m sharing my story to warn others—online scammers are more sophisticated than ever, and they know exactly how to manipulate victims into trusting them. But if you’ve been scammed, don’t lose hope. With the right experts on your side, recovery is possible. I highly recommend PRO WIZARD GILBERT RECOVERY to anyone in need of fund recovery services. They saved me from a financial nightmare, and for that, I am forever grateful.  

WhatsApp:  https:// wa.link/eknndi

Email: pro wizard gilbert recovery (@) engineer. com Telegram: http s:// t. me/Pro_Wizard_Gilbert_Recovery

2 Go to comments
J
Joy B 5 hours ago
Scotland's senior players 'have gone to a different level' in quest for top-three finish

When life gives you reasons to be sad, say No and Make the world know that you have more than a thousand reasons to smile. I almost gave up on my quest of finding a permanent cure to this nasty virus called HIV. I never thought i would be HIV negative again after been diagnosed in 2018, i have tried everything possible in life from one doctor to another, one hospital to another, series of tests, different kinds of medication, i had already lost hope until i melt Mara Clifton who kindly told me about DR ODIGIE who do cure difference virus by the preparation of herbs and roots. I searched about the DR online which leads me to different testimonies about the great herbal DR. I decided to make up my mind to give him a try, I contacted his email that was given in the post and I followed him with all seriousness and I did all he instructed me and he sent me a herbal medicine which i took for 14 days. After the 14th day dr ODIGIE told me to go for another test to confirm my new hiv status. To my greatest surprise, the disease that seemed incurable disappeared within 14 days of using his herbal remedy. I am writing this here in order to put you in the know that there is a cure for this virus. It is time to stop believing in the medical doctors who say to us there is no cure for Cancer, Herpes, Hiv and many more viruses. I just want you to know that if you are going through any health challenge, contact this man and follow his instructions diligently and have a disease free life. his email is (drodigiehealthcure@gmail.com) safe your life today because healthy health is wealth and a good health worth more than wealth famous, so please get back your health by getting in touch with DR ODIGIE kindly get him contacted by emailing him or call/Whatsapp on (+2347049458624

1 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Mick Cleary: 'Can we have our Champions Cup back, please?' Mick Cleary: 'Can we have our Champions Cup back, please?'
Search