Steve Borthwick has rolled the dice on England’s World Cup campaign with his boldest-ever Test selection for Sunday’s quarter-final against Fiji.
The England boss — not traditionally a gambling coach — has picked Marcus Smith for only his second-ever start at full-back at any level.
Borthwick has so far adopted a risk-averse approach to his England tenure. But on the eve of his biggest challenge yet as Red Rose boss, he has opted to go for broke by installing Harlequins star Smith in the No 15 shirt.
The former England captain has displayed his ruthless streak in omitting both George Ford and Freddie Steward from his starting line-up.
Ford takes a seat on the bench, while Steward has been omitted entirely. England show just the two changes from their 18-17 win over Samoa, with Elliot Daly on the left wing and Joe Marchant at outside centre, amid an unchanged pack.
Fly-half Ford starred in England’s tournament-opening 27-10 victory over Argentina, which settled Red Rose nerves after losing three out of four summer warm-up Tests. The Sale playmaker started at 10 with Farrell at 12 in last weekend’s jittery win over Samoa, and was withdrawn midway through the second half. Farrell shifted to fly-half and Smith stepped into the backline at full-back for the closing stages against the Pacific Islanders.
Borthwick has now seen enough of Smith in his new role to be confident of starting him there in England’s biggest match in four years.
Steward has become one of the world’s pre-eminent operators under the high ball, with the Leicester No15 starting 29 of England’s last 30 Tests.
The 22-year-old has been omitted this weekend, however, with England looking to turbo-charge their attacking play from the wider channels and their second wave.
Smith has emerged as England’s fastest player over 15 metres in this tournament, displaying acceleration that has stunned team-mates just as much as impressed onlookers.
The 24-year-old’s inclusion from the off represents a tacit acceptance from England’s coaches that they simply must find a starting place for him.
The accomplished fly-half had never even featured at full-back before defence coach Kevin Sinfield floated the idea midway through England’s summer training camps.
England regard captain Farrell as their talismanic leader, and his return to fly-half underscores once again Borthwick’s unstinting faith in the 32-year-old Saracens fulcrum.
While Farrell is around, Smith will have a serious job on his hands to grab Test chances at fly-half, so switching him to 15 gives the playmaker a chance to shine out wide and exploit that new-found acceleration.
Fiji beat England 30-22 at Twickenham on August 26 for their maiden win over the Red Rose men.
Simon Raiwalui’s side will be packed with a glut of players who could reasonably argue their case for world-class status.
Fiji have had to contend with a second personal trauma in this tournament, with Sam Matavesi’s father dying this week. Josua Tuisova’s son died after a long illness earlier in the competition.
Fiji’s players and coaches have been rallying around both players to lend their support in the most challenging of circumstances.
The Fijians are famed for their respect and humility, but forwards coach Graham Dewes insists the Pacific Islanders will have total faith in their chances of victory.
“Fiji on their day are capable of shocking the world,” said Dewes, the former prop who scored the winning try against Wales to send Fiji to the 2007 World Cup quarter-finals.
“When we play the tier-one nations, if we get it right, we put them to sleep. Beating England in August has given us a lot of confidence.”
