- England host Ireland in their penultimate Six Nations match on March 9
- They are hopeful Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith will be fit to play
- It could see a battle for the 10 jersey between him George Ford and Fin Smith
England are ‘hopeful’ that Marcus Smith will be available for the game against Ireland on March 9 – meaning they now have a trio of talented playmakers all competing for the number 10 shirt at Twickenham.
Following the grim defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield in the final round of the Six Nations, head coach Steve Borthwick is faced with a number of selection dilemmas. One of these concerns the choice to start at fly-half.
George Ford is the incumbent, Finn Smith is the new sensation and Marcus Smith is the returning prodigy, almost recovered from a pre-championship calf injury. They all seem to have a chance. It will be a fascinating battle for the conductor’s baton.
Asked if all three players are really at odds with each other, attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said: “Yes. They’re all obviously at different stages, with Marcus coming back and George having played.
“We know we have good players, albeit different players, in that fly-half spot.
Finn Smith played the final quarter in Edinburgh, helping to score a late try, with glimpses of the good form he has shown in propelling Northampton to the top of the Premier League this season.
Asked about the rookie’s impact on his debut, Wigglesworth said: ‘He’s incredibly astute for a young man and opinionated in a really good way. He treats the game like a true fly-half.”
Another newcomer to catch the eye was Exeter wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who scored his first Test try as England looked to stage a late comeback. He is also a young candidate who has strengthened his case for a place in the starting XV. “Manny is a ball of energy and athleticism who wants the ball, wants to tackle people and we saw that in the time he got,” Wigglesworth said.
“He’s always going to do things that no coach can teach him, and that’s what we want. We want players to use their talents on the field, and he has incredible athletic talents. Once you have that, there’s no stopping you.’
Borthwick has a particularly difficult selection match coming up this week and next as he must find the right balance between improving the team and not unduly disrupting the quest for precious stability and fluidity. That issue is particularly true in Wigglesworth’s area of influence and he said: ‘We’ve been talking every week about how important cohesion is to attack.
‘Every team suffers from injuries, so there are adjustments and that also includes selection. It is difficult. It’s about how to accelerate that cohesion, and that’s difficult if you make changes here and there, especially in positions where it really matters.
‘Changes in wholesale are rarely the solution. We talked about growing cohesion. I once played a Test match that we lost badly in New Zealand, where the entire backline was cut and the pack was not. You remember these things. The rationale behind this is that you want everything to be well thought out, and with Steve we understand that.”
There is a perception that a clash with imperious, Grand Slam-chasing Ireland is not the best opportunity for Borthwick to promote newcomers. But to some extent, England is determined to gauge the wisdom of fast novices, regardless of who they face next.
“If a player is ready, he’s ready for us,” Wigglesworth said. ‘It’s not a case of “he can’t play against X, Y or Z”. With the development of young players you can’t throw them all in at once and see who rises and who falls.
“We want to develop them and part of that development is trying to pick them at the right time and give them the minutes. Some guys are ready to be thrown in, some guys you can drip in, that’s Steve’s decision on that. I have confidence in our guys: if we think they can start best, they will be ready to go.”
Marcus Smith will not take part in England’s training in York today but he and Northampton scrum-half Alex Mitchell are both set to be in action next week.