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Speculation growing about big England selection calls versus Fiji
By Liam Heagney
Speculation is growing that Steve Borthwick is set to transform the England backline by naming Marcus Smith to start at full-back in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final, with skipper Owen Farrell also set to displace George Ford as the starting out-half.
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Bar the expected 71-0 rout of Chile, the English attack has been otherwise blunt during its four-game Pool D campaign at France 2023. Borthwick’s side was kept tryless in their Marseille opener versus Argentina, but the third-minute sending-off of Tom Curry kept a lid on criticism about their bluntness in that fixture.
However, they needed a fluke headed assist from Joe Marler in the 56th minute in Nice to break Japanese resistance after English supporters had been loudly booing the team just minutes earlier, while they required a 73rd-minute converted Danny Care try and a last-gasp tackle from the same player 75 seconds from time to secure the fortunate 18-17 win over Samoa last Saturday in Lille.
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The kicking game, an approach that England have built so much of their attack on, failed to fire against the Samoans after Borthwick picked Ford to partner Farrell in a starting 10/12 combination for the first time since March 2021.
The inclusion of Manu Tuilagi at No13 also meant that Borthwick was reprising the 10/12/13 Ford/Farrell/Tuilagi gambit last seen in March 2020 four months after it was outmanoeuvred by the Springboks in the 2019 World Cup final.
Ford was hooked on 51 minutes last weekend in Lille and the arrival of Smith to play at full-back resulted in Farrell switching to No10, Freddie Steward moving to the wing, and Joe Marchant into centre where he was soon partnered by Ollie Lawrence, a 58th-minute replacement for Tuilagi.
Smith has started just once before as the England No15, producing a player of the match performance in the September 23 hammering of Chile, but he has impressed off the bench on a number of occasions in that position, most notably when England had to chase down Fiji seven weeks ago at Twickenham.
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England’s comeback was unsuccessful as they ultimately lost that Summer Nations Series game 22-30, but Smith scored one try and was pivotal in the creation of another finished in the corner by Marchant.
Naming Smith ahead of Steward would be a big call for Borthwick but so too would be naming Farrell at No10 and benching Ford, the player of the match in the opening wins over Argentina and Japan.
Last weekend’s performance ignited calls for Farrell not to be selected again at inside centre but rather than getting dropped, he is expected to move inside one channel with Ford the player who misses out.
England, who have based themselves for quarter-final week in Aix-en-Provence, will officially confirm their team to face Fiji at 1pm local time on Friday (12noon UK), with Borthwick set to discuss his selection at a media briefing starting an hour later.
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Well the picks have been made but there’s another position that England could develop Smith at, wing.
Think Of the roaming influence that both Will Jordan and Mack Hansen have on their teams, with the lower pressure ability to join the line and find space. A player with similar ability as well is Cheslin Kolbe.
On the wing you could also hide him a bit defensively, although he’d have the dexterity to defend in space.
Borthwick changes his team like most people change their underwear.
Front row, backrow, midfield and back 3.
He casts about like a blind man in a sand storm.
He clearly has no idea what his best team is, and expecting combinations to suddenly gel overnight as if by magic at international level is delusional.
England have gained a qtr final by default.
They are currently a very mediocre outfit.
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They are DS man lucky…Fiji should their discipline hold will win against a mediocre English outfit.
Id like to think that at least I'd have an idea about the forwards, even if they are playing roulette with the backs. But apart from George and Itoji and Lawes I'm not sure who will start where.
I think England are probably the first team to get to a world cup QF and not know who their best starting player is in at least 10 positions.
Its incedible when you think about it really.
Not really big calls given that the back line totally failed to function by picking a 10-12-12 combination against Samoa that hadn't worked since the last world cup. Picking Smith at fullback, a position he has started at once in his test career against Chile is going to push Fiji to waste a bit of time kicking to him in the first half but as soon as they realise that the guy can't tackle they'll just resort to running over the poor bloke. Smith is a small attacking fly half with no experience under the high ball and no idea how to read play defensively from fullback. Despite his total lack of pace, Steward was at least reasonable at reading where the ball might go next and had a knack of showing up in the right place at the right time.
Farrell doesn't have the pace or the attacking instinct to string together any kind of attacking play ball in hand that might one day see a fullback hitting the line at pace… disaster is looming.