Owen Farrell is set to be dropped by England for the first time since he was benched at the 2015 World Cup with Marcus Smith expected to win the battle for the No 10 jersey in Saturday’s crunch fixture against France.
In what would be the biggest call of his tenure to date, Steve Borthwick is ready to relegate Farrell to the bench and hand Ellis Genge the captaincy for the first time. Farrell has struggled for form of late – he has turned to Jonny Wilkinson for assistance with his goal-kicking – and with Borthwick seeking a more expansive approach, Smith is set to be given licence to run the show in what is expected to be the only change to the starting XV.
Smith was released from last week’s training camp in Brighton after featuring for just 14 seconds off the bench against Wales but he starred for Harlequins against Exeter last Saturday and is primed for a first England start since their opening Six Nations defeat by Scotland last month. That day Farrell played at inside-centre outside him but with Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade hitting it off in the centres, the latest indications on Wednesday were that Borthwick’s captain is set to make way against France.
Eddie Jones repeatedly insisted that the Smith-Farrell partnership would come good but after taking one look against Scotland, Borthwick appears to have abandoned it. In Farrell’s absence, Smith would have the freedom to implement his own attacking style and form a midfield trio with Lawrence and Slade seen only once before, in the victory over the USA in July 2021.
Despite Farrell’s scratchy form, it would be a huge call by Borthwick to axe his captain. It is thought Courtney Lawes would have been handed the captaincy – as he was for much of last season by Jones – but with a shoulder injury ending his championship prematurely, Borthwick is expected to turn to Genge.
Jones rested Farrell on a handful of occasions but the 31-year-old has not been dropped by England since the opening match of the 2015 World Cup against Fiji. That day George Ford was preferred but while he was part of England’s training camp in Brighton, he was released back to Sale this week to get more game time having recently returned from a long-term achilles injury.
Since 2016 Farrell’s win record from fly-half in the Six Nations is just 56%, according to data from Safe Betting Sites, but it climbs to 67% when lining up at inside-centre, in tandem with Ford for the most part. Farrell’s best route back into the side, therefore, could be in the No 12 jersey outside a fully-fit Ford, but on Saturday Smith is set to be given the chance to cement his place as England’s fly-half in their penultimate competitive match before the World Cup.
Genge, meanwhile, developed into a key member of the senior leadership team under Jones but would be captaining his side for the first time. The 28-year-old was, however, the Leicester captain during their title-winning season last term, under Borthwick’s tutelage.
England will go into Saturday’s match as underdogs – with France the defending Six Nations champions and sitting second in the world – before next week facing Ireland who top the rankings. It represents a daunting climax to England’s tournament but one that Genge is relishing.
“It’s a great opportunity to see where we’re at,’ said Genge. “We have the second and first best teams and it goes in order as well. If you beat the second best you’re probably licking your lips to get stuck into the No 1. But at the moment we’re solely focused on beating France and seeing where we’re at.”
