Steve Borthwick has given the clearest indication yet that Marcus Smith will go to the Rugby World Cup by confirming he will take three fly-halves to France.
England boss Borthwick has named Smith to start in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up Test against Wales in Cardiff, with his Harlequins team-mate Danny Care in from the off at scrum-half.
Livewire playmaker Smith will face a big selection battle at the World Cup, with Owen Farrell as captain and George Ford a long-term trusted fly-half lieutenant.
Smith looks set to be named in England’s 33-man squad on Monday however, in light of Borthwick admitting the wider requirements about taking specialist half-backs.
“Right now I have got a pretty clear framework; in those key positions you need to have depth, three players who can play that position,” said Borthwick.
“With the number of cards that are issued, Head Injury Assessments, then for those specialist positions you need to have depth, if someone does take a head knock you are looking at 12 days’ potentially and could miss two Test matches.
“You need to be protected and have the right amount of depth in those specialist positions, which means positional flexibility is really important in your 33.”
Smith struggled at times across England’s mixed Six Nations, as new head coach Borthwick got to grips with the Red Rose top job.
The 24-year-old recently signed a new contract to stay at Harlequins, rejecting strong overtures from France that would have left him outside of selection limits to England beyond the World Cup. But Borthwick has outlined the esteem in which he regards Smith and the game-breaking qualities he offers.
“I rate Marcus exceptionally highly; he has an incredible skill set and an ability to find space,” said Borthwick.
“I think he recognises when there are defenders that he can pick off. He can either pull them out of the line and put other people through space or find space himself.
“I think he’s worked really hard with Richard Wigglesworth on the way we want to attack and the kicking strategy and he’s really developed his defence with Kevin Sinfield.
“I’ve been hugely impressed with Marcus throughout this camp but also in all my interactions with him. He’s a young man who has already achieved a lot in the game but he’s got even more exciting things to achieve in the future.”
World Rugby has expanded World Cup squads from 31 to 33 for the France tournament, with England kicking off their campaign by facing Argentina in Marseille on Saturday, September 9.
England are now likely to select three scrum-halves and three fly-halves as a result of that larger squad limit, which will provide a buffer in terms of injury or unavailability.
England will stay in Cardiff on Saturday night after the Wales clash, whereupon Borthwick and his coaches will hold a final World Cup squad selection meeting. Borthwick will then speak to all the England players on Sunday, to tell them face-to-face of his selection decisions.
England’s players value Borthwick’s clarity and respectful communication extremely highly, and the former Test captain is not about to break from that routine now.
“We’ll meet as a coaching team on Saturday night, then on Sunday I’ll tell the players,” he added. “I will meet with the players and tell them their place in the selection process. We’ll be staying in Cardiff on Saturday night.
“What I’ve tried to do throughout is be really respectful with the players, be really clear in my communication with them, understanding that it is highly likely that the 33 announced on Monday will also have players outside of it that will come into the tournament at some point through injuries or similar, and past tournaments tell us that.
“So how I handle that communication with the players is vital to ensure that the players are handled respectfully and clearly and have clarity about what I require of them.”
