Category: England Rugby

• 6-2 bench split means Earl will provide cover at centre
• “Half the stuff I do is as a 12 anyway,’ says back-rower

Ben Earl has said he would take a shift to playing at centre against Wales in his stride on Saturday after Steve Borthwick revealed the back-rower is the first cab off the rank in the event of injury.

As England go in search of the bonus-point victory they are likely to need to keep their hopes of winning the Six Nations title alive, the head coach has opted for a 6-2 split on the bench. With three fly-halves in the squad, there is no obvious centre cover and Tommy Freeman is starting there for England for the first time.

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• Chessum recalls abuse directed at players in 2023
• ‘It is probably the best away day you can have’

England are braced for a “hostile” welcome on and off the field in ­Cardiff when they head across the Severn Bridge for the final Six Nations instalment this weekend. The lock Ollie Chessum has not forgotten some of the abuse directed at England’s ­players by Welsh fans two years ago and he suggests it will “rev up” the visitors for the game at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Chessum, who was named player of the match after his side’s seven‑try win against Italy on ­Sunday, says ­England are determined to finish their campaign on a high note and are fully prepared for the “special” reception they receive before Six Nations games in Cardiff, most recently in 2023.

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• Pair crossed paths during time at Worcester Warriors
• Elliot Daly to keep place in backline after Italy showing

Listen to Fin Smith wax lyrical about the Wales head coach Matt Sherratt, the influence he had during their days together at Worcester and the debt of gratitude he feels is obvious. Accordingly, Smith sent Sherratt a message of congratulations when he was handed the Welsh reins on a temporary basis after Warren Gatland’s departure. “I texted him saying all the best,” said Smith, “and he said: ‘Eff off, I’ll see you in a few weeks.’”

Sherratt’s reply was entirely in jest – “it was nice to know he’s not changed since he got the big job” – and Smith is only too aware of the threat Wales pose to England’s outside chance of clinching the Six Nations title in Cardiff on Saturday. Defeat by Scotland was a 16th in a row but Sherratt has Wales playing a far more eye-catching brand of rugby. In what is due to be his final match in charge they would love nothing more than to end their miserable losing run against England.

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Ollie Sleightholme scored twice as England got a bonus-point victory to boost their slim hopes of snatching the Six Nations title

They’ve gone 60 metres in a flash! After Varney was isolated and spilled in contact, England were up the field in no time. First Daly with a strong counter down the left. Then Freeman down the right wing after another break. Then it was about continuity and Willis steamed onto a short pass. He was short of the line but reached out a meaty arm to dot down. Smith with the extras and England are up and running.

2 min: England go short with the kick-off but Italy are wise to it. A bit of kick tennis ends with an English line-out back in their own half. A decent strike off the back of it makes yards with Lawrence busting over the gainline, but the Italians swarm and win a penalty on the ground. They’ll have the line-out in English territory.

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After unconvincing back-to back victories Steve Borthwick’s side need to find a cutting edge against Italy

The England squad went to cookery school during their training camp in York this week. They were given all the ingredients to make a steak dinner and let loose in the kitchen. Some followed the recipe to the letter, others made things up as they went along and it is not too much of a stretch to imagine Marcus Smith finding time to whip up a quick souffle in front of a disapproving Steve Borthwick.

As metaphors for England’s attack go you could do a lot worse. England have all the ingredients but are yet to produce a signature dish in this Six Nations. Borthwick repeats ad nauseam he wants his players to move the ball, to be brave with it, to showcase their attacking qualities but against Scotland they kicked away 69% of their possession. Against France they clung on by their fingernails. Performances have been at odds with their pre-match promises.

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Marcus’s style of play is in complete conflict with how the England head coach sees the game

I have a great deal of sympathy for Marcus Smith. I really feel for him because these past few weeks will have been really mentally tough to deal with. It’s patently obvious that his preferred position is fly-half but he has been asked to do a job for the greater good of the team and has done so willingly. You can dress it up however you like but going from starting No 10, to playing out of position, to the bench is a demotion and that will be tough to take.

Marcus would be forgiven for looking at the team that Steve Borthwick has picked to face Italy and wondering why he was never given that backing. Fin Smith has performed superbly well in the No 10 jersey and after two games there, Borthwick has surrounded him with Northampton players with five in the backline. It’s a credit to Saints, their style of play, their players and coaches, and it gives Fin the perfect framework in which to to operate. I’m not sure, though, if Borthwick ever built a team around Marcus in the same way.

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• England retain slim hope of winning Six Nations
• Itoje: ‘It’s not going to be a straightforward game’

Maro Itoje has called on his England side to put Italy to the sword on Sunday before worrying about a bumper points haul that could boost their hopes of clinching the Six Nations title.

England go in search of a third straight victory of this year’s championship and are hot favourites to do so, having never lost to the Azzurri. Both their recent victories, against France and Scotland, were secured by a solitary point, however, with question marks raised over their clunky attack.

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In a world run by bullies, with sports subsumed by greed, England v Italy – never mind Ireland v France – offers comfort

I recently caught myself telling someone I couldn’t wait for England’s Six Nations match against Italy on Sunday, which seemed a bit, well, enthusiastic. Clearly, rugby fans of all stripes will be salivating at Saturday’s key clash between Ireland and France. It’s a bit less usual to get excited at the kind of historical mismatch which, in the past, I might have watched as highlights, late in the evening, when I already knew the result.

Is it because I expect the action to be good? Uncertain. Italy pushed England close last year and dominated Wales in Rome last month, which salts the dish. The home team need a sizeable win – four tries for the bonus point – to stay in the title hunt, which raises the question of whether Steve Borthwick’s reformatted backline can finally cut loose and run in a cricket score. Or will Italy bounce back from a drubbing at the hands of the French and provide a last-minute Twickenham thriller for the third game running?

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While dropping Marcus Smith to the bench makes a sort of sense, Steve Borthwick’s selections still feel largely reactive

It was a beautiful day in Bagshot. The kind of afternoon made for chucking a ball around and contemplating a calculated risk or two. Slightly firmer pitches, the sun shining, a licence to thrill … if ever there was a week made for a player like Marcus Smith to go out and express himself from the start against an apprehensive Italy this was probably it.

So let’s just say the England teamsheet will have landed with a heavy thump in the Smith household and the offices of his agents, Roc Nation. It is only a few weeks since Netflix was projecting the 26-year-old as the poster boy – “the best hair in world rugby” – for their latest fly-on-the-wall documentary, with a shiny new Mercedes G-Wagon to reinforce his profile.

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• Borthwick decision is blow to Smith’s Lions hopes
• Dingwall replaces Slade at inside-centre

Marcus Smith faces an uphill battle to regain his England place after Steve Borthwick sought to kickstart his side’s spluttering attack by axing the Harlequins playmaker, dealing a major blow to his British & Irish Lions hopes.

Borthwick dropped Smith for Sunday’s Six Nations fixture with Italy in a one-on-one meeting in England’s hotel bar and has offered him no assurances over his future place in the starting XV with Elliot Daly coming in at full-back. In his favoured position of fly-half, Fin Smith continues and with Fraser Dingwall replacing Henry Slade at inside-centre, Borthwick has picked five Northampton backs and highlighted the cohesion that brings.

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• Hooker feared international career could be over
• George replaced by Maro Itoje on eve of Six Nations

Jamie George questioned whether he had an England future after being left hurt by Steve Borthwick’s decision to strip him of the captaincy on the eve of the Six Nations. George said he was blindsided by the England head coach but after receiving advice from his inner circle – including the Saracens director, Mark McCall, Owen Farrell, and his family – he has set his sights on a fourth World Cup, revealing the cricketer Joe Root is his inspiration.

George was installed as captain for the 2023 Six Nations and despite a difficult run of results in his year in charge – England won five of their 12 Tests – he was a hugely popular leader, both within the squad and among supporters.

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• ‘Some of them are learning, some of them are very young’
• Former captain dismisses charge of being out of touch

The former England captain Will Carling has questioned the quality of the coaching within the national set-up and suggested it is holding the team back. Carling, who was part of England’s backroom staff under Eddie Jones, has also rejected complaints from squad members such as Ellis Genge that ex-players are “out of touch” after their criticism of last month’s win over Scotland.

Carling, who captained England from 1988 to 1996 and presided over one of the country’s most successful periods, says the players look restricted by a gameplan that prevents them from replicating the ability they show at club level. “You look at the calibre of the England coaching team and you have to question whether that’s the best we can put out there,” Carling said on Radio 4’s Today programme.

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Slender victory against Scotland was met with criticism from former players but the prop believes free-flowing winning rugby is unrealistic

Ellis Genge has something to get off his chest. After a few pleasantries – his time off at the start of the week was a “nightmare” because his son has chicken pox – he soon finds his stride. The England prop cannot understand the negative reaction to last weekend’s one-point victory in the Calcutta Cup. England’s first win over Scotland in five years, and their second in a row in this year’s Six Nations, ensured they retain an outside chance of winning the title.

“It is difficult as a player to digest the fact that people were disappointed that we just won the Calcutta Cup back after five years,” Genge says. “We won the game and people are still upset about it. It blew my mind, to be honest. Ex-players, recently retired and long retired, and people from years and years ago, I just can’t believe how out of touch they are, the spiel that I’m reading from people saying how off it we are. We won two games on the bounce and you’re upset about it, I don’t get it. Let’s not be naive, you can feel that people were booing when we were playing. It’s the feeling at the moment, for whatever reason, it is the way it is.”

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‘I’ve just tried to keep my head down and do my job,’ says the Bath tighthead after seeing off Scotland in Calcutta Cup

Not all heroes wear capes and Will Stuart is not the type you would expect to see in shining armour, but the time has come to recognise England’s unsung tighthead prop. Crisis? What crisis? It was not so long ago that the Rugby Football Union was wringing its hands at the dearth of tightheads across the country but quietly, under the radar, Stuart has emerged as England’s most consistent, reliable performer.

During Steve Borthwick’s first Six Nations in charge two years ago, he lamented that England were “not good at anything” and raised particular concern over the scrum, an area in which they had ranked last of all tier-one nations over the previous 12 months. Fast-forward to now and, under the tutelage of Tom Harrison, England’s scrum has developed into both a solid platform and a weapon they can employ to impressive effect.

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• Extra match against Australia added for November
• Borthwick wanted week to build cohesion in squad

Steve Borthwick will have to forgo a crucial training camp and guide E­ngland into this year’s autumn internationals with a week’s less preparation after the Rugby ­Football Union arranged an extra lucrative ­November Test against Australia.

England habitually play three autumn internationals in the same year as a British & Irish Lions tour but the RFU arranged a fourth, which could generate up to £10m in revenue, after its latest accounts reported record losses to reserves of £42m.

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