Danny Cipriani knows only too well the pressures that come with wearing England's No. 10, and the former Premiership star thinks last week's mauling at home to France isn't enough to judge Marcus Smith.
The Harlequins playmaker came into the starting XV at Owen Farrell's expense for the 53-10 defeat at Twickenham, a result that may well have come about regardless of who started at fly-half. Reports in recent days have indicated head coach Steve Borthwick will revert to type as England close their Guinness Six Nations away to Ireland on Saturday, with less than six months to go before the 2023 Rugby World Cup kicks off in France.
"I'm disappointed," wrote Cipriani in his latest Daily Mail column, with England set to visit the Aviva in Saturday's 5 p.m. kick-off. "I had been hoping that England would stick with Marcus Smith at 10 against Ireland but it looks like he is going to be dropped again.
"If he is left out, I don't think it will damage him because he's a tough character. It would tell me more about Steve Borthwick than about Marcus. It could show that he is uncertain about what he is doing as a coach, or that he has a lack of compassion for individuals. That's just how I view it."
Smith's Harlequins team-mate, Danny Care, told Mirror Sport England would have suffered at French hands 'whichever player they had in the 10 jersey' last Saturday. Borthwick—who replaced Eddie Jones in December following a poor run of results last year—has only a handful of games before England open their World Cup, which looks likely to be the last for 31-year-old Farrell.
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Fielding 24-year-old Smith is sure to come with some growing pains, though such struggles may be necessary if England are to reach the next step in their development. Reinstalling Farrell at No. 10 may be in part influenced by recent criticism following the defeat to France, but Cipriani suggested that would be short-sighted.
"The right call would have been to give Marcus another chance," assured the former Wasps, Bath and Gloucester fly-half. "Borthwick made the decision last week to go with him, so I really thought he should be backed and given the next four or five games, leading up to the World Cup."
Although England's coaching set-up might be new, it's Cipriani's understanding that the team is known quantity when it comes to 105-cap Farrell and 81-cap George Ford. Outside any debate regarding personnel, the former international blamed the tacticians for not promoting an 'attacking framework' and the right kinds of set plays.
"You can't just have one player with that mindset, or two or three - you need to have a whole team with the same mindset. England don't have that at the moment," concluded Cipriani. "They still have a bit of an Eddie Jones hangover because there wasn't a huge amount of game understanding in his era."
If a home decimation against France served as a wake-up call for the Red Rose, there could be more alarm bells en route at the Aviva come Saturday. Ireland are one win from completing their third Six Nations Grand Slam, having beaten Les Bleus 32-19 in the second round of this year's tournament.
Taking into account just how heavily the odds appear to be stacked against England, some might consider this an ideal time to continue experimenting with the stars of tomorrow. It's the nature of the beast that English fans will also demand results today, but Cipriani suggests time is of the essence to give Smith the best possible platform for future success.
