Following the England team announcement to play Italy this weekend, here are our key winners and losers from Steve Borthwick’s selection.
Winners
Jamie George
Given his service to England, Jamie George fully deserves a start on his 100th cap, but this doesn’t feel like just a celebratory start. The Saracens man has made a really good impact off the bench in his two previous outings against France and Scotland, and you’d expect he will be just as effective from the get-go.
Crucially, his pinpoint lineout throwing will give England a consistent platform in this department, one where Italy have struggled throughout the Championship. This will also be a momentous occasion for him, too, and getting the nod to start will make it even better.
Elliot Daly
Another man rewarded for his strong cameos from the bench is Elliot Daly, who slots into the starting fullback role for Marcus Smith. The Saracens ace has been out of the England picture for a while now, with a whole host of outside backs leapfrogging him on Borthwick’s list, but his return to the starting side proves that class is permanent.
He will also add another experienced head to the mix, which is always a good thing at Test level.
Fraser Dingwall
The latest Northampton Saints star to slot into Borthwick’s backline is Fraser Dingwall, and it could be a stroke of genius from the former Leicester boss. Not only does he already have that synergy with the likes of Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Ollie Sleightholme and Tommy Freeman, but with Marcus Smith now out of the starting XV, Dingwall is that secondary ball-playing option in attack.
He already does this for Northampton, outside of Fin Smith too, so this should transition perfectly into an England jersey.
Jack van Poortvliet
Leicester scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet has leapt ahead of Harry Randall to occupy the replacement scrum-half shirt, and it could be a good way for him to stake a claim to be in the Test side long-term.
The 23-year-old has shown some serious Test-match quality in his brief career at this level and this is his chance to prove that once again. He also fits the style of play that Borthwick wants from his replacement scrum-half.
Injury club
The back-row unit of Tom Curry, Ben Earl and Tom Willis were potentially injury doubts for this game, but they have all come through their respective knocks to feature this weekend. They have formed an incredibly strong back-row unit this Six Nations, so having them all fit for the Italy Test is a huge boost to Borthwick.
Fin Smith
The focus of the Smith-squared axis was actually on Marcus, but now the England attack will be singing from his hymn sheet. Fin Smith has really taken well to the starting fly-half role since being handed his maiden start against France, and with his Harlequins namesake now out of the starting XV, he can have full license to play his style and Bortwick in turn seems to be building things around him now.
Ted Hill
Whilst he has just retained his spot, the inclusion of Ted Hill in the 23-man squad again this week proves how Borthwick now sees him as a Test player. The Bath forward was also only afforded a very brief cameo against Scotland – coming on with 30 seconds left – but again his inclusion points to the fact Borthwick wants him to be a part of his squad.
He has been given the chance to show he’s a Test player, now he just needs to go out and take it.
Steve Borthwick
He might have made a handful of changes to his squad, but they are the ones he wanted to make rather than having them imposed upon him. His squad is still looking like – well – his squad now, and he’s finally putting his proper stamp on things.
Losers
Marcus Smith
The Marcus Smith full-back experiment seems to be over, for now at least, but it throws up even more questions for the England head coach. Borthwick looked to be putting all his eggs in the Smith-squared basket when he picked the pair to face France and Scotland, but now he has rather quickly been pushed to the side.
It also marks a rather dramatic fall for the Quins ace, given he seemed the poster boy of this England side mere months ago.
Henry Slade
Exeter’s Henry Slade is now out of the 23-man squad, with reports suggesting he has picked up a knock, but if Dingwall goes well he could easily be out of the squad for longer.
Slade has struggled to fully connect with centre partner Ollie Lawrence in the past year, despite both the players’ qualities, and it’s clear that the midfield is England’s biggest issue at the moment so it might be a natural end for a partnership that has just never realised it’s full potential.
Harry Randall
Van Poortvliet has now usurped Randall as the replacement scrum-half, and to be honest, he rather fits the role better than the Bristol back. Randall is undoubtedly a quality player, but Borthwick wants something completely different out of his replacement nine – he wants a controller who can kick the leather off the ball. That simply isn’t Randall.
Freddie Steward
Another full-back has been handed a start, and you again start to wonder about Freddie Steward’s Test future. The Leicester star just can’t seem to find a place in Borthwick’s plans right now, despite shinning under him at both Leicester and his early spell with England.
He just seems to have been discarded, left on the fringes of the squad, which is a crying shame considering his attacking improvements this season.
Henry Pollock
Whilst he is only 20 and clearly still developing, Henry Pollock is on the cusp of winning his first Test cap but he will have to wait another week at least to get it. Pollock is a generational talent and will likely win a bucketload of caps in the future, but now it remains inches out of reach.
Ben Spencer
The inclusion of Van Poortvliet in the 23-man squad just highlights how far down Ben Spencer is in the England pecking order. Spencer has been right up there as one of the best scrum-halves in the Premiership for a while now, and in a different world he has 50+ Test caps, but he just can’t crack his way into the England side in any way.
What’s weirder is he clearly fits that mould, yet was overlooked.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/england-team-v-italy-winners-and-losers-as-marcus-smith-pushed-to-the-side-with-attack-now-singing-off-fin-smiths-hymn-sheet
