Marcus Smith is set to be included in England’s final World Cup squad on Monday after Steve Borthwick revealed he feels the need to select three fly-halves for the tournament.
Smith fell out of favour during the Six Nations after England’s horror show against France but has been named to start Saturday’s first warm-up match against Wales and is on course for a place in the 33 along with the captain Owen Farrell and George Ford.
Four years ago, Eddie Jones took just two fly-halves to Japan – Farrell and Ford – but squad sizes have since been extended from 31 to 33 players, giving Borthwick greater latitude. In addition, the head coach believes that the threat of suspensions, as well as the fact that concussion protocols now dictate players must stand down for up to 12 days, there is a greater need for players in specialist positions.
“Right now I have got a pretty clear framework,” said Borthwick. “In those key positions you need to have depth, three players who can play that position. With the number of cards that are issued, then for those specialist positions you need to have depth, if someone does take a head knock you are looking at 12 days potentially and could miss two Test matches. You need to be protected and have the right amount of depth in those specialist positions which means positional flexibility is really important in your 33.”
Farrell started England’s last match at fly-half and, though he is rested on Saturday along with the vast majority of Premiership finalists, he is the frontrunner for the No 10 jersey when the World Cup begins. Ford is yet to appear under Borthwick for England but was a key part of his Premiership winning side with Leicester and after regaining his fitness towards the end of last season, he has again established himself as a senior member of the national squad, which had appeared to leave Smith on the fringes.
Lining up with club-mates Danny Care and Alex Dombrandt against Wales, however, Smith has been handed the opportunity to showcase his talents in Cardiff on Saturday. “I rate Marcus exceptionally highly,” added Borthwick. “He has an incredible skill set and an ability to find space. I think he recognises when there are defenders that he can pick off. He can either pull them out of the line and put other people through space or find space himself. I think he’s worked really hard with [attack coach] Richard Wigglesworth on the way we want to attack and the kicking strategy and he’s really developed his defence with Kevin Sinfield. I’ve been hugely impressed with Marcus throughout this camp but also in all my interactions with him. He’s a young man who has already achieved a lot in the game but he’s got even more exciting things to achieve in the future.”
Borthwick intends to finalise his 33-man squad on Saturday night and inform the players, one-by-one, on Sunday. Borthwick says he already knows the “vast majority” of his squad and has been determined to keep his players abreast of where they stand all summer. Rather than allow them to fret over their potential inclusion, Borthwick has sought to bring clarity to his squad, who were on Thursday given a speech by the England national football team head coach Gareth Southgate.
“Steve has been very clear with me,” Smith told the BBC. “We have been in constant conversation. It has been a very open forum which I have really enjoyed, knowing the pecking order, knowing where we all stand. It drives us all to compete and challenge each other on the training field, but it is also very collaborative when we are in the meeting rooms and trying to analyse training. We are very open with our thoughts and are always sharing ideas.”
Wales Leigh Halfpenny, Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Max Llewellyn, Rio Dyer, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies; Corey Domachowski, Ryan Elias, Keiron Assiratti, Dafydd Jenkins, Will Rowlands, Christ Tshiunza, Jac Morgan (c), Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Nicky Smith, Henry Thomas, Ben Carter, Taine Plumtree, Tomos Williams, Dan Biggar, Mason Grady.
England Freddie Steward, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Guy Porter, Joe Cokanasiga, Marcus Smith, Danny Care; Ellis Genge (c), Jamie Blamire, Will Stuart, David Ribbans, George Martin, Lewis Ludlam, Tom Pearson, Alex Dombrandt
Replacements: Theo Dan, Bevan Rodd, Kyle Sinckler, Jonny Hill, Tom Willis, Jack van Poortvliet, George Ford, Henry Slade
The England management have been at pains to insist that Saturday’s match is not a selection trial. That said, the team selected has a shootout feel to it with Tom Pearson winning his first cap at openside flanker, David Ribbans and George Martin lining up at lock, Dombrandt at No 8 and Guy Porter and Joe Marchant named as the centres. Joe Cokanasiga could also force his way into the final squad with a strong showing while Theo Dan and Tom Willis are also in line to win debuts from the bench.
Warren Gatland has backed Wales to beat expectations at the World Cup. Asked if he relished his side being written off, the head coach said: “Yeah. Continue to do it because it’s only going to make us stronger. I am really excited. I’m telling you, this team will do something pretty special. I think if I look back on the Six Nations and all the things that were going on, I probably needed to let things unfold a bit and not be as direct or demanding as I might have normally been.”
Gatland will give caps to three players – Max Llewellyn, Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti – among a starting lineup captained for the first time by flanker Jac Morgan.
“The fact that things have settled down and a lot of new players have come in, the way that we’ve been so much more accountable for how we do things and demanding standards, that has been brilliant,” Gatland added. “As a group, we are in a good place. I promise you now, we will surprise some people.”
PA Media contributed to this report
