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Owen Farrell leads England from fly-half vs Fiji, against the likes of Levani Botia
Ahead of England’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Fiji on Sunday, we look at the selection conundrums Steve Borthwick has faced and the calls he has made, as well as what appears to be Fiji’s greatest chance to make a semi-final…
Borthwick’s huge faith in Farrell comes at a cost for Ford
England arrived at this World Cup with captain and first-choice fly-half Owen Farrell suspended for their opening two Pool D fixtures vs Argentina and Japan – the tougher games in the pool as per world rankings.
Worryingly Farrell’s place-kicking ability seems to have largely deserted him in recent years. Once one of the premier kickers in world rugby, he has not been a reliable force off the tee for some time now.
Since Steve Borthwick was instilled as England’s lead man, though, he has designated Farrell – his former team-mate at Saracens and England – very much as his own main man. Both at fly-half, and in terms of captaincy.
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Farrell says the squad have long since moved on from defeat to Fiji at Twickenham in August
The 31-year-old’s red card against Wales at Twickenham in August – for catching back-row Taine Basham in the face – proved costly in terms of World Cup prep, but Farrell, regrettably, has a good deal of previous in this area, receiving a fourth such ban for a high tackle.
In 2016 he was suspended for two games for an illegal challenge on Wasps’ Dan Robson during a Champions Cup semi-final, while in 2020 he was banned for five games for a high tackle on Wasps player Charlie Atkinson – a sanction which was reduced from 10 weeks on account of off-field mitigating factors.
Earlier this year in January, he received a four-game ban after his shoulder made contact with the head of Gloucester replacement Jack Clement.
Despite all of the above, it was difficult to imagine a player Borthwick would have preferred to lose less than his on-pitch leader Farrell – a figure the rest of the England squad speak extremely highly of as well.
In his absence, George Ford came in from the cold to start an England Test for the first time since March 2021, and it is no exaggeration to say his kicking exploits turned momentum in England’s favour vs Argentina in Marseille, during a situation in which they were favourites to lose their World Cup opener.
George Ford replaced a suspended Farrell at fly-half to superb effect as England beat Argentina and Japan
With Tom Curry having been shown a third-minute red card, and a confident Pumas 3-0 ahead, Ford conjured up two magnificent long-range drop-goals which gave England a visible surge of energy and belief, from which they never looked back in a 27-10 victory – Ford kicking all 27 points (six penalties, three drop-goals).
He was confident, accomplished and the match-winner. Indeed, that clash at the Stade Velodrome will go down as one of the high points in the 30-year-old’s career without question, and will live long in the memory of many England fans too. Yet, five weeks on, he will be sat on the bench for England’s World Cup quarter-final.
Ford’s drop goals vs Argentina turned the momentum to 14-player England, in a crucial victory
Ford started again vs Japan in the absence of Farrell, with the latter then returning to start in the facile 71-0 win vs Chile. Borthwick, unable to drop the in-form Ford and intent on keeping Farrell in the side, then named the two of them in the team to face Samoa – Ford at 10, Farrell at 12 – with England already qualified.
It backfired spectacularly to the extent that England were a TMO decision, taken after a conversion and last-minute knock-on, away from what would have been a deserved loss to the Pacific Islanders.
The events in Lille left Borthwick with a decision to make: Ford or Farrell. He has plumped for his skipper, despite the fact Farrell continues to search for form. Will it prove the wrong call? Or can England’s leading point scorer in history stand up?
Steve Borthwick has selected Marcus Smith at full-back, Farrell at fly-half and Ford on the bench
Smith a superb running threat but remains untested full-back; Steward jettisoned
The other major selection call Borthwick has made sees Harlequins playmaker Marcus Smith installed at full-back, with Leicester’s Freddie Steward – whom many in England were calling the best full-back in the world not long ago – completely absent from the 23-player matchday squad.
Smith, who under Eddie Jones appeared to have made the England fly-half jersey his own, slipped behind Ford and Farrell in the pecking order for No 10 under Borthwick, but his running threat in broken field is undoubted.
Smith starred for England against Chile, but has yet to be tested at all under the high ball
As such, Borthwick and co selected him at full-back vs Chile, where he ran amok and gave an example of his superb talent with ball in hand.
The major caveat to that, of course, is that firstly, Chile are one of the weakest sides at the World Cup, with many players who are not professional, and secondly, a crucial aspect to full-back play at the top of Test rugby is ability in the air under a high ball, and Smith just has not been tested yet in this area.
Chile did not manage to, and neither did Samoa once Smith emerged off the bench to play at full-back, as the Samoans sought to continue a running and short-offloading game which had served them so well in the Test up to that point.
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Borthwick explains his squad selection for their quarter-final clash against Fiji, saying Smith has earned his selection at full-back
Now, Fiji are not renowned for any sort of kicking game either, but one would think Smith will be tested severely in terms of high-ball collection, and his ability to withstand crunching Fijian hits upon landing. It would be a mistake by Fiji if he were not.
Steward will feel immensely disappointed at being jettisoned, while Smith will know he needs to perform well to keep his place in England’s 23-player squad going forward.
It is another Borthwick gamble. Will this one come off?
Freddie Steward (centre) has been dropped from the entire matchday squad with Smith in at full-back
Fiji’s greatest-ever chance to reach a World Cup semi-final?
It is 12 long years since Fiji were in a World Cup quarter-final. They have never been in a semi-final.
Twice before the Fijians have made the last eight: during the first World Cup in 1987, knocking out Argentina along the way, and in 2007 in France, knocking Wales out along the way.
Fiji have booked a World Cup quarter-final place for just the third time in their history
In 1987, Fiji suffered a 31-16 defeat to a superb France side – reigning Five Nations Grand Slam winners – who shocked Australia 30-24 in Sydney in the semi-finals, before losing the final to New Zealand at Eden Park.
In 2007, Fiji met the eventual champions South Africa in Marseille, giving them a huge scare by coming back to level at 20-20 going into the final quarter, before the Springboks eventually kicked on to win 37-20 – SA beating Argentina and then a very average England side en route to lifting the trophy.
Put simply, this current England side have nowhere near the capabilities or quality those France and South Africa sides had, while this current Fiji group may be their best-ever side.
The reason for the lack of certainty in this regard, is that Fiji were magnificent in their tough opening World Cup games vs Wales and Australia – beating the latter 22-15, and suffering an undeserved 32-26 defeat to the former after a well below-par refereeing display from Matt Carley – but were then the opposite vs minnows Georgia and Portugal.
If Fiji perform as they did vs Wales and Australia, they will be a big threat, but perform as they did vs Georgia and Portugal, and they will lose
Indeed, a very nervy display – seemingly inhibited by the weight of expectancy – saw Fiji to a rather fortunate 19-12 win over Georgia, while they shockingly lost their final pool game vs Portugal 24-23 in Toulouse, progressing to the knockouts due to a vital losing bonus point collected.
Perform as they did vs Wales and Australia, and Fiji will cause England – a side they beat 30-22 at Twickenham in August remember – all manner of problems, but play as they did vs Georgia and Portugal, and England should win with a bit to spare. Either way, this has to be termed Fiji’s greatest-ever chance to make a World Cup semi-final.
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