It is not Steve Borthwick’s style, but it would be quite the two-fingered salute to England’s critics for the returning Owen Farrell, George Ford and Marcus Smith to all be unleashed against Chile on Saturday from the start. It would be a radical selection – and there is not much radical about this England management – but “not unthinkable”, according to the attack coach Richard Wigglesworth before a selection meeting on Monday afternoon.
Either way, we can safely say there will be changes with England putting one foot and a few toes into the quarter-finals with their uninspiring victory against Japan, but more than that Farrell is available again after a four-match ban.
It might not have been the plan for Farrell to play against Chile a while back – you would have thought Borthwick had earmarked this game as an opportunity to vary his lineup – but just as was the case with Johnny Sexton in Ireland’s opener against Romania, the England captain needs a hit-out.
Farrell, you imagine, has been like a coiled spring these past couple of weeks. Suspended players are not allowed in the vicinity of the playing field so he has not even been able to take part in the warm-ups. He has been limited to leading the opposition in England’s training sessions and just a few minutes after full time against Japan thoughts turned to his return.
“We’re delighted that his ban is over and I’ve just been joking with him there because he’s not been allowed on the field but after that game he’s officially allowed back on,” Ford said. “We’re delighted, you can imagine what he’s been like in training, the influence he’s having and the influence he has had on the team in the past. Me, Owen and Marcus are doing our utmost to drive this team forward. Steve will make his selections to win the games and we’ll buy into that.”
The pertinent question is where Farrell plays, because Ford has been named man of the match in England’s two matches so far and, as much as a significant number of supporters do not like it, he has shown himself to be the fly‑half most adept at carrying out Borthwick’s gameplan. Pairing them together, then, may be a shrewder move.
Under Borthwick, Ford and Farrell have managed only five minutes in the 10-12 partnership that became a staple of Eddie Jones’s side but has not been seen from the start for England since March 2021. He has wanted to reprise it since taking over from the Australian but Ford was not deemed fit enough to play during the Six Nations and, though Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant have done little wrong at the World Cup, it would be no surprise to see Farrell slot in at inside‑centre against Chile and share the burden of igniting England’s attack with Ford. “It definitely can work because it’s worked before for England,” Wigglesworth said.
If Borthwick ultimately decides to give Ford a rest, however, it could either mean he rekindles the Smith-Farrell axis at 10-12 or puts Farrell at fly-half and gives Smith a first start at 15 after another eye‑catching cameo against Japan.
“I think [Marcus has] been really smart with how he has done it,” Wigglesworth said. “One, he wants the ball. He is desperate to get his hands on the ball first and foremost. But he’s been really smart with where he positions himself, how he gets it, and hasn’t tried to play like a 10 out wide. He’s gone: ‘Get me the ball, and then I’ll play on.’ Then he’ll use the capability he’s got with his feet and his acceleration. It’s really testament to him about how smart he is.”
What is clear is that Borthwick has a variety of options at his disposal to add more playmakers to his side should he wish to divert from his current gameplan. “If you’ve got a genuine playmaker at 12, you’ve obviously got another set of eyes close to the ball,” Wigglesworth said. “But if you look at what a lot of the shapes run from the teams who have that playmaker at 12, they’d be using their 12 flat to line with options around him to keep the defence tight and then play out the back to then try and get their guys a bit more space out wide.
“Whereas, a dual playmaker at 15 – I played with one in Alex Goode – and obviously Marcus has come on and done a great job for us and it’s best there where they can get the ball in slightly wider and slightly earlier and then do the damage out there.”
