After England’s Calcutta Cup win, I wrote that Marcus Smith was approaching the time when he would have to sit down with Steve Borthwick and insist on playing No 10.
Being versatile can count against you as a player and that is clearly what has happened with Smith. I’ve said it until I’m blue in the face — he is a fly-half who can play full back. That does not mean he is an international No 15, far from it. That said, I have been happy with him as a stopgap at full back with George Furbank out injured. It has been a case of needs must.
Smith has done a good job — not a great job, because we can’t expect that, given he is not a specialist — filling the position for the victories over France and Scotland. So, I was very surprised when I read that he had been dropped to the bench for Sunday’s game with Italy. It is a huge call and one I don’t agree with.
Elliot Daly has done well off the bench in the last two matches and scored the winner against France. But for him to come in for Smith is a serious backwards step.
Daly is a good player, but he is 32 and has not started for England at 15 in four years. He doesn’t fit this new England team Borthwick is trying to create. I have no doubt he will go well, but with Italy and Wales as the final matches, I was hoping for something that offered more of a lens into the future based on out-and-out attack.
Dropping Smith and bringing in Daly is not an exciting selection in any shape or form. It’s not one I understand. The England team for Italy, which also includes Fraser Dingwall at centre with Henry Slade dropped completely, is not one I’d have picked.
Steve Borthwick has made the huge call to drop Marcus Smith – one I do not agree with
England are lucky to have Marcus and Fin Smith in their squad and they should play both
Fin Smith could be the ball player at 12 that this team needs and allow Marcus to play at 10
I would have kept Smith at full back. If Furbank had been fit, Borthwick would probably have had to make a call between Smith or his namesake Fin at 10.
That would have been an equally big, but justified call. For me Marcus still edges it over Fin, although England are very lucky to have both in their squad. So, play them both!
I see no reason moving forward why Marcus and Fin Smith can’t play together at 10 and 12, with Fin at inside centre. He is the ball player at 12 this team needs, while he has also proved his defence is excellent. And Tommy Freeman should be at outside centre alongside them. Now that is an attacking backline!
The fact Marcus Smith has been dropped is one thing. The selection of Daly ahead of Freddie Steward is another. Steward must be wondering what on earth has happened.
I also really like George Hendy, another Northampton player who can come into the mix at full back in the future. Hendy has plenty of pace and runs good attacking lines. Max Malins, who is currently injured, is another player who fits the ‘all court’ full back mould.
Steward has gone from England’s first-choice 15 to being replaced by Marcus Smith. Then, when he is dropped, Daly comes in. Slade must as bewildered as Steward.
I’ve got one theory. I watched the second series of Six Nations: Full Contact on Netflix recently. I didn’t enjoy it and that’s being polite. Although filmed 12 months ago, something felt very strange about the England camp compared to the other teams.
If I was England coach, I would have been far from happy with the way Marcus Smith and Steward were portrayed in the show. They came across awfully. It was the opposite of the winning culture that is a prerequisite of any team and I just would not accept it.
Elliot Daly has done well off the bench but his selection is not one that has the future in mind
Freddie Steward must wonder how he has been replaced at 15 by first Smith and then Daly
England’s messaging around Marcus Smith has been mixed and it has tied them up in knots
If England struggle against Italy it will be fascinating to see if Smith comes on at full back or 10
If I was Borthwick, I would want to make a statement of some kind when the opportunity arose. I wonder if that is exactly what has happened here.
The other thing to consider on Marcus Smith is the messaging coming out of the England camp on him. It has been mixed, to say the least. They’ve tied themselves in knots.
Last week, while the team were training in York, assistant Kevin Sinfield said ‘it would be a wasted opportunity’ if they ditched the Marcus Smith at 15 experiment.
A handful of days later, he is on the bench. Why would Sinfield say that if there was even a semblance of doubt Marcus Smith was not going to start against Italy? It’s all rather odd and shows the coaching team is far from united around the selection. England were always going to have to not only play well, but also entertain and beat Italy this weekend, especially because there was so much aimless kicking against Scotland.
But the team selection has put a lot of pressure on Borthwick and the players now.
Clearly, England at Twickenham should still beat the Azzurri comfortably. However, if the team are struggling, it will be fascinating to see what happens.
Will Marcus Smith be brought on at full back? Or will he replace Fin at No 10?
England have got themselves in a right pickle. There are more questions than answers on team selection and that is not a good position for an international team to be in.
