Steve Borthwick has called on Marcus Smith to give France the runaround on Saturday, urging the fly-half to play to his attacking strengths at Twickenham and admitting he has trusted his gut instinct for the biggest selection call of his tenure so far.
As revealed by the Guardian, Owen Farrell has been left out of an England XV on merit for the first time since the 2015 World Cup with Smith preferred to inject tempo against les Bleus. Borthwick was adamant he was not “playing games” after releasing Smith from the England squad last week, only to recall him to the No 10 jersey on Thursday, and insisted he paid no attention to the outside noise swirling around the fly-half debate.
He did acknowledge that Farrell’s goal-kicking woes played some part in the decision but Smith has in effect been handed the reins to play to his strengths in a manner similar to that he showcased so impressively for Harlequins against Exeter last weekend.
Ellis Genge will captain the side for the first time – Farrell will immediately assume the role when he comes on – and though Borthwick claimed this is a team selection with only France in mind, Smith has the opportunity to lay down a significant marker in England’s last competitive match at home before the World Cup.
Asked if Smith had free rein over the attack, Borthwick said: “The players going on the pitch are the ones who will be making the decisions. I pick players for the strengths they bring to the team. And one of the things I’m aspiring to do here is to get them to bring their strengths on to the pitch in an England shirt.
“You can’t play slowly against a team the size of France because they have such a strong defence. As soon as you do make a mistake, the power of their forward pack comes into play and the speed of their ball movement comes into play. So we’ve got to keep our game quick because you can’t play slow against a team like this.”
Borthwick has now axed Ben Youngs, Manu Tuilagi and Farrell from the England side and the flanker Lewis Ludlam highlighted the benefits of having a meritocratic squad in which there were “no favourites”. Borthwick added: “One thing I picked up very early on in my coaching career is that you have to be true to yourself. You can’t coach thinking about other people’s opinions of what you do.
“You’ve got to do what you believe in. I think this is the right team and the right tactical plan for the game this weekend. There’s a period where you have got to trust your instincts as well. That’s important.
“You gather the information and then it is your job to process it and find the quiet time, however you do it, where you think it through and understand it. That’s what I try to do.”
England team: F Steward (Leicester Tigers); M Malins (Saracens), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs), O Lawrence (Bath Rugby), A Watson (Leicester Tigers); M Smith (Harlequins), J van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers); E Genge (Bristol Bears, capt), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Bristol Bears), M Itoje (Saracens), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers), L Ludlam (Northampton Saints), J Willis (Toulouse), A Dombrandt (Harlequins).
Replacements: J Walker (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), D Ribbans (Northampton Saints), B Curry (Sale Sharks), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints), O Farrell (Saracens), H Arundell (London Irish).
France team: T Ramos (Toulouse) ; D Penaud (Clermont), G Fickou (Racing 92), J Danty (La Rochelle), E Dumortier (Lyon); R Ntamack (Toulouse), A Dupont (Toulouse, capt); C Baille (Toulouse), J Marchand (Toulouse), D Aldegheri (Toulouse), T Flament (Toulouse), P Willemse (Montpellier), F Cros (Toulouse), C Ollivon (Toulon), G Alldritt (La Rochelle).
Replacements: P Mauvaka (Toulouse) , R Wardi (La Rochelle), S Falatea (Bordeaux Begles), R Taofifenua (Toulon), S Macalou (Stade Français), M Lucu (Bordeaux-Begles), Y Moefana (Bordeaux Begles), M Jaminet (Toulouse).
While Eddie Jones admitted Farrell was “very unhappy” to lose the captaincy on last summer’s tour of Australia, Borthwick said his captain had been “impeccable” all week. “He’s been world class,” he added. “I mean that not just as a player, world class in all aspects of preparation this week.
“He’s a fantastic leader. I think if you were a fly on the wall this week, you would not be able to tell whether Owen was starting at 10 or was going to finish the game at 10 or at 12.”
France have recalled the fit-again Jonathan Danty to inside-centre, ensuring Smith can expect plenty of heavy traffic down his channel. France are favourites for Saturday’s match but have not won at Twickenham in the Six Nations since 2005 and their head coach, Fabien Galthié, said: “It’s a temple of world rugby, where rugby was born. Even if England aren’t performing well, they’re still part of the giants of world rugby, at the top of their level and their difficult moments.”
