England are looking to the “X factor” of Marcus Smith to dazzle France and lift the home crowd out of their seats in the latest edition of Le Crunch at Twickenham. The fly-half, promoted to the starting lineup at the expense of Owen Farrell, has been given a licence to play and his teammate Anthony Watson has confirmed the hosts will seek to express themselves right from the start.
With Farrell set to come off the bench in the second half, England are determined to crank up the pace of the contest and stop France from settling at a venue where they have not won in the Six Nations for 18 years. “We’ve seen what Marcus can do for Quins,” said Watson, who scored a try in the corresponding fixture two years ago when England won 23-20. “He’s got that X factor where he can spark a game into life.
“That’s what he’ll be expected to bring, to do what he does week-in, week-out for his club. He has the ability to create something from nothing. That’s what people tune in to watch. He’s not a one-trick pony. It’s his range of ability to create stuff that makes him special. Fans want to see that type of thing and Marcus does that regularly.”
Watson also said the head coach, Steve Borthwick, wants his players to attack the game rather than have an overly cautious mindset. “Steve gives us a licence not to go out and feel that way. We’re committed to trying to win, we’re not playing a conservative game and trying to feel our way into it because that’s pointless. Steve talked in one of his first press conferences about wanting to inspire the nation. We definitely want to do that by playing a winning brand of rugby but also one that entertains.”
France admit they are wary of both English fly-halves as they look to secure a first Six Nations win in London since 2005. “A team’s strategy doesn’t change just because of one player,” said their France’s captain, Antoine Dupont,. “Marcus is a player who enjoys the attacking game, he’s great on one-on-ones. Farrell is better defensively, they have different profiles but they can be complementary at the end of the game. At this level, the final minutes of the game are very important.”
Dupont also said France were under no illusions about the difficulty of winning at Twickenham. “Two years ago, we were kind of favourites but we lost. Just looking at their squad, you can see the quality and the experience, even if they aren’t at their best. They have players who can play in the biggest moments and tomorrow is a big moment. We know how difficult it is but we are ready.”
