The England squad went to cookery school during their training camp in York this week. They were given all the ingredients to make a steak dinner and let loose in the kitchen. Some followed the recipe to the letter, others made things up as they went along and it is not too much of a stretch to imagine Marcus Smith finding time to whip up a quick souffle in front of a disapproving Steve Borthwick.
As metaphors for England’s attack go you could do a lot worse. England have all the ingredients but are yet to produce a signature dish in this Six Nations. Borthwick repeats ad nauseam he wants his players to move the ball, to be brave with it, to showcase their attacking qualities but against Scotland they kicked away 69% of their possession. Against France they clung on by their fingernails. Performances have been at odds with their pre-match promises.
Still, England arrive at Twickenham on Sunday to face Italy having clawed their way to back-to-back victories with an impressive resilience and a commendable desire to work for each other. They are bristling at what they perceive is undue criticism at finally finding a way to win tight matches, albeit in ugly fashion.
Will Carling’s assessment – that the coaches are not up to it, that the players are sensitive – has not been received well, but there is a collective understanding that in an attacking sense, there is room for improvement. “We only scored one [try against Scotland] but I don’t think that’s reflective of an attack that can’t even start the engine,” said the captain, Maro Itoje. “We want to get better at it but I don’t think we’re starting from a bad place.”
It was during their week in York 12 months ago that England revolutionised their attack. After a desperate loss to Scotland, the players were furious with themselves. Borthwick told of how he felt the jersey was weighing heavy but the trip north was a turning point. Until then the focus of training sessions had been to get up to speed with Felix Jones’s blitz defence. It is said Richard Wigglesworth played a key role in encouraging Borthwick that more work needed to be done to hone the attack, the head coach listened and England edged out Ireland in thrilling fashion before falling just short against France in equally exhilarating style.
In the ensuing 11 months, Smith was installed as England’s fly-half, their ringmaster, but as impressive as his individual performances were, victories were achieved only against Japan. Six defeats in a row against tier 1 opposition culminated in England’s loss to Ireland last month and Borthwick moved Smith to full-back, selecting namesake Fin at fly-half.
Victories over France and Scotland followed before England returned to York to polish their rusty attack once more. Marcus Smith was told he was dropped in the team’s hotel bar in Bagshot but the writing was on the wall in York when he spent so much time training with the replacements.
He is said to be gutted by his omission and, in the absence of such a fan favourite, the expectation to demonstrate a cutting edge will be greater among supporters. They always expect but against Italy the obligation to thrill is greater. England have never lost to the Azzurri, but they have not won a Six Nations match by more than 10 points since this fixture two years ago and a failure to so again will have more former players lining up to air their views.
The question of why England were so bereft in attack against Scotland, given Borthwick’s insistence his side will dazzle, has not been answered. Admittedly Scotland’s excellence had plenty to do with it but, just as was the case against France, England seemed happier scrapping, staying in the fight, than they did imposing their game on the opposition.
Is Borthwick simply playing to the galleries by talking of an attacking approach? Is the gameplan too prescriptive? Might they be better to make things up as they go, to rely on a bit more instinct?
Elliot Daly, who makes his first start at full-back for four years, had a bit of advice his teammates may heed. “The less you think, the better you are,” he said. “The more you are in the moment the better. I learned that from Eddie [Jones], he told me once not to think and that was pretty much it.”
Daly’s task is made more difficult on Sunday for the simple reason he is not Marcus Smith, but, at 32, he is the elder statesman of the back division and he possesses an array of underrated talents. In his early days with Wasps he had a gliding, outside break to die for and made his match-winning try against France look simple when it was anything but. He is also one of the two members of the backline who do not play for Northampton with Borthwick seeking to ignite the attack by employing the familiarity that exists between so many clubmates.
Not long ago, all signposts to the 2027 World Cup were adorned by images of Marcus Smith but this is now Fin’s show and an attacking masterclass against Italy will only cement that. Another clunky showing, however and the broth will be spoiled. England have all the ingredients but nothing but a feast will satisfy the Twickenham faithful.
