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Borthwick explains why Marcus Smith is starting for England at No15
By Liam Heagney
Steve Borthwick has explained his gamble to start Marcus Smith at full-back for only the second time ever in his England career for this Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final versus Fiji in Marseille.
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The promotion of Smith from the bench at the expense of the excluded Freddie Steward was the big talking point on Friday afternoon on Aix-en-Provence when the head coach held his team announcement media briefing.
Moving on from the nerve-wracking one-point pool win over Samoa last Saturday in Lille, Borthwick opted to make two changes in total to his backline and name an unchanged pack.
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However, while the naming of Smith at No15 in place of the axed Steward is a straightforward swap, the inclusion of the recalled Elliot Daly on the left wing – with out-half George Ford dropping to the bench – had a domino effect across the three-quarters as four players have had their positions changes.
Jonny May, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi and skipper Owen Farrell respectively started last weekend in the No11, 14, 13 and 12 jerseys but they will run out this Sunday wearing No 14, 13, 12 and 10 after Borthwick decided to run with Farrell at out-half in place of Ford and go with a midfield of Tuilagi and Marchant.
Asked to explain his selection deliberations, the head coach began: “We have got a squad that is fully fit and everyone raring to go so there is some great selections to make and this team is the right team to play against Fiji on Sunday.
“It’s great to have this blend of strengths to start this game and the guys coming on to finish the game. We have got a very strong bench also. Having this combination of Manu and Joe Marchant played real well in the centres together.
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“Owen has played a lot of games with Manu at 10/12 as well and the way Marcus in each of the games has come on and started at full-back, he has added enormously so he deserves this start for this game the way we want to play.”
Focusing specifically on out-half Smith getting his start at full-back, Borthwick said: “It was discussed some months ago through the Rugby World Cup preparation camps and having time with the players enables you to work on certain aspects and develop certain aspects which has been brilliant.
“Marcus has really embraced the opportunity. You start look at the strength of the players we have in our back three available to us, it’s great to have the different combinations and this starting back three is the right one for the game this weekend.
“I talked about positional flexibility, having the players able to play at the highest level in multiple positions is an incredible strength in a World Cup like the man next to me [Farrell], his ability to perform so well at either 10 or 12, and Marcus’ ability to play 10 or 15 is another sign of strength in this squad.
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“Marcus has played a lot of times at 15 now for us this last period of time, through August and this World Cup coming on in plenty of games to finish them. He is also now an experienced international rugby player and as I say this team is the right team for what we need to do this weekend.
“We all see what a top quality rugby player he is and I have seen in many players in the squad, I have seen growth and development. Having the opportunity to work with the players for a period of time enables that to happen.”
New England No15 Marcus Smith perfects his step at training in Aix-en-Provence ahead of Sunday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final. #ENGvFIJ #RWC2023 #EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/ASxSII88jB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 13, 2023
The mood at the team selection media briefing was mostly upbeat but the suggestion to Borthwick that Ford had been dropped needled the coach. “George changes his role to the bench, George changes his role to the bench, he changes his role to the bench,” he repeated about the out-half who was the player of the match last month versus Argentina and Japan but will now wear the No22 shirt against Fiji.
“I meet with all the players around selection and the reasons behind it, the thought process behind it and why we are choosing what to do. George has been brilliant throughout this whole tournament so far, been really excellent but his role is slightly different now, he’s coming on to finish the game. Again, he has been brilliant in the training week.
“As I say, look at the quality of players we have available to us, we have a lot of really good players who aren’t starting. We could talk a lot about George, talk a lot about Ben Youngs not starting, Freddie Steward, there’s a lot of top quality players, Henry Arundell. It shows the strength of this squad.”
Switching to the midfield, where England have reprised the midfield partnership of Tuilagi and Marchant which started the wins over Argentina and Japan, Borthwick said: “You have got this great blend in the centre with Manu and Joe. You have got the power in the carry and defensive strength that Manu brings, you’ve got incredible running, the outside break that Joe brings going from one side of the field to the other to create overloads.
“The connection he brings with the outside backs in defence, that’s a really good blend and as you look at this 10, 12, 13, it has got brilliant strengths within it and we know they pose a lot of challenges and we have talked a lot about what they bring, I think this is the right combination of players.”
Despite last weekend’s underwhelming effort in the one-point win over Samoa, Borthwick sounded optimistic that England are capable of beating a Fijian side that they lost to 22-30 only seven weeks in a Summer Nations Series fixture at Twickenham.
“This is knockout rugby and these players will embrace this challenge and really rise to the occasion. That is my expectation and that is what they have done through out this tournament and I expect them to rise again Sunday against Fiji.
“There is a lot of players here who have experienced knockout rugby before, there is a lot of players who have lifted a lot of trophies at different times in their careers, so my expectation is they will be rising to the occasion.
“There was plenty of things we discussed at length post the game (in August). We were very clear that was part of our build up towards the tournament and we learned a lot of lessons. Now, the team has moved a bit since that point of time.”
I always back England in the World Cup, no matter how bad they might be in the run-up.
They can battle, live that about them
Ah, because England are desperate?
I’m not convinced Smith is the right choice at FB against Fiji. Another reason why I think England are going home.
Why this obsession with trying to make all the backs multi-positional. As Clive Woodward said let’s start with people playing in their accustomed (and best) positions.
This would be the same Woodward who
- converted Steve Thompson from No 8 to hooker (and sent a lineout coach to practice throwing on his driveway every day for months)
- played both Dallaglio and Hill in every back row position at different points in time, and ended up with Hill (arguably the best 7 in world rugby at the time) playing at 6 (where he was still arguably the best player in that position at the time)
- played Wilkinson at 12 in 1999 because he wasn’t confident in his ability to play 10 in a knockout game
- played Mike Catt in every position higher than 9?