Steve Borthwick was rounding off his press conference in the Stuart Room at Pennyhill Park when a French journalist poked his head through the crowd with one final question. ‘Steve, ow do you like zis sad period with bad results?’ he asked, with the accent of a man who had just rolled in from the Champs-Elysees. ‘Are your nights good? Do you sleep well?’
It was a question that cut through all of England’s selection tweaks. Little interest in the tinkering with the Smiths – promoting Fin to 10 and Marcus to 15. Just a charmingly packaged reminder that England are walking toward the jaws of a French team that could inflict their eighth defeat in 10 Tests.
‘I’ve never been asked that question: are your nights good?’ said Borthwick, chuckling at the change in tone. ‘Are my nights good? I am sure all the English journalists in the room will share my feeling of periods of excitement about the way the team is trying to play and the positions they are getting into. And then frustration about letting things slip at key moments and disappointment at losing a lot of games really narrowly.
‘There is always expectation. In any of the main English sports, there is expectation to win. Cricket, football, rugby. There is expectation and when you take the job you expect that expectation. I would rather be involved with a team that has expectation than one that doesn’t.
‘We are in a period now where we have got a team that is growing and growing fast. We are consistently playing against the best sides in the world. Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, France. So we are being tested every single week. And we have come up short, we know that. The players are going onto the pitch trying to bring their very best game. Everyone can see that and acknowledge they are going on the pitch with an intent to play positive attacking rugby which is going to be a strength of English rugby going forwards.’
This weekend, Borthwick is hoping his dual-playmaker gamble will be the lighting rod that turns positive attacking rugby into winning rugby. Fin the facilitator and Marcus the magician. The hope is that Fin can bring a steady hand to the No 10 jersey, allowing Marcus to latch onto France’s trademark long kicks and capitalise on the wide, open spaces.
Marcus Smith will move to full-back to allow England to field two playmakers against France
In at No 10 is Fin Smith who has only 122 minutes international experience so far in for England
England coach Steve Borthwick insists he can handle the pressure of the national job
‘If you look at the way Marcus plays, particularly in those unstructured situations, you see how dangerous he is,’ said Borthwick. ‘If you give him time and space, he can hurt the opposition. You saw in Ireland on Saturday, and particularly in that first half, the growing nature of the game is players flooding through in support and trying to keep the ball alive. And that’s certainly something we are working upon and having Marcus there at 15, potentially with a little bit more space.
‘He is a game-changer. He’s a player who can do things very few of the players in the world can do. And I want him to bring all those natural instincts onto the field in an England shirt. Now, whether he starts with number 10 or number 15 on his back, nothing changes. I want those natural instincts on the pitch. He sees space that other players don’t. He has an ability to find gaps in defences that most people don’t know are there. And that’s exactly what I want him to bring this weekend.’
With four Northampton players named in the backline, Borthwick is hoping the familiarity of his club connections will ease Fin’s transition into the starting team. France have named a team loaded with ball-carrying threats – including 145kg prop Uini Atonio – and the Saints play-maker has been backed to bring his defensive resolve to the backline.
‘You could talk a lot about Fin’s distribution skills, which are excellent,’ said Borthwick. ‘His kicking game is really very, very accurate. Early this season, we had Fin at 30 tackles in a game for Northampton. It tells you a lot about the personality – he’s tough, he’s brave. When players see a fly-half willing to defend like that, they have immense respect for him. So we can talk all about those different skill sets, which he certainly has, he’s an elite player, but he’s also a very tough, brave young man.
‘France are probably the best side in the world at being able to attack tight and being able to create momentum tight. Their offloading game, going through tackles and then offloading after the tackle is very good. Which then has the ability to bring defenders tight. And then I think they are very strong at getting the ball to width, very fast. And the fastest way they do that is Antoine Dupont pulling out those cross-kicks off both feet. So that poses us a real challenge to be able to deal with that physical challenge in the centre of the field.’
England captain Maro Itoje (second right) issues a rallying cry to his team during training
Saracens No 8 Tom Willis has been promoted to the starting team in place of Ben Curry
France’s Antoine Dupont is one of the greatest scrum-halfs to have ever played the game
Freddie Steward, who was the starting full-back in the Dublin defeat, has been dropped from the matchday 23. Borthwick has opted for the speed of Ollie Sleightholme and Tommy Freeman to contain the lighting quick threats of Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey. Elliot Daly has taken on the role of utility backline cover, offering an experienced safety blanket if England are staring down the barrel of another bad result.
Saracens No 8 Tom Willis has been promoted to the starting team in place of Ben Curry, forming another familiar club combination with Ben Earl. England identified that France have mauled 50 per cent of their lineouts and Willis’ weight could help disrupt their set-piece momentum. Jamie George, too, will be on hand to provide reinforcements from the bench.
But the biggest – and seemingly impossible – job will be to get a handle of Dupont. The superstar scrum-half is one of the greatest to ever play the game and Maro Itoje did his best to humanise the No 9 when he took over from Borthwick in the hotseat of the Stuart Room. ‘I don’t think any of us will be looking at him in awe,’ insisted Itoje. ‘Obviously he’s a gr…he’s a good player, he’s one of many good players in their team. ‘
It is the sort of challenge that could leave the England team with a few more sleepless nights.
