England need to think outside the box: Marcus Smith at full-back could set them on fire

Marcus Smith's 10-minute cameo in Dublin was no empty gesture. Photo: Getty Images/Charles McQuillan

Already, it seems that England will have to think outside the box and deviate from the best-laid plans for the World Cup. Even before Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola had dealt with devastating suspensions, Steve Borthwick promised the element of surprise. And he may have to rethink his fullback role as Anthony Watson is ruled out and Elliot Daley is in trouble.

It may seem misguided to turn down Freddie Steward, who is now 25 years old in the starting lineup. consecutive tests since its debut in the summer of 2021. This obviously includes all eight games during Borthwick's tenure and each of the three World Cup warm-ups so far. Moving internationally, Steward was also instrumental in Leicester Tigers' title win in 2022 under Borthwick and the current England managers.

However, Marcus Smith's appearance in Dublin for 10 minutes on the defender's position was not an idle gesture. Borthwick doesn't make them. It is understood that Smith, who replaced Watson with Steward on the wing, trained there and could well play the same role against Fiji at the weekend. There is a method behind this step.

First, we need to consider the English midfield. Henry Slade aside, Borthwick has always been inclined to either turn the 10-12 axis of George Ford and Farrell, which he did briefly before sacking the latter against Wales at Twickenham, or put together a central partnership of two Manu Tuilagi, Ollie Lawrence and Joe Marchant. Elliot Daley has spent most of his Test career in the back three.

The Ford-Farrell partnership is apparently out of the question, at least until the pool game in Chile, which has two principal implications. First, it puts more responsibility on Daly as a roaming distributor. Secondly, it highlights the fact that Steward is not yet as sharp a passer as those used at full-back by other countries; players such as Boden Barrett, Hugo Keenan, Blair Kinghorn, Thomas Ramos, Willy le Roux, Ange Capuozzo and Liam Williams.

Simply put, Borthwick and Richard Wigglesworth apparently wanted at least two of Ford, Farrell and Daley on the field. field at any given time. Now they seem to be devising a way to bring Ford, Smith and Daly — or Max Malins now that Daley has been injured — together on the field.

Saturday start of the England team gave hope. Check out Daily here in the first few seconds. As Ireland approaches the touchline, he recognizes Hugo Keenan…

…before hitting to complete the confident hit. tackle:

Daily tackle

Moments later, Ellis Genge, Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoye devour James Ryan…

…and make him roll over. In the next stage, there is a great chance to strike. Watson and Ben Earl are at the far touchline, while Steward moves from fullback to level two to signal this channel:

However, after receiving the ball from George Ford after Vunipola's retreat, his pass goes through Joe Marchant and Harry Ringrose is driven into play. It's not really Steward's fault. Marchand could fall even deeper after changing positions. In any case, though, the chance to get two of England's fastest players out into the open is gone:

Steward's pass gaffe

Due to the way their current defensive line is set up, it's not easy for England to get past the goal with first time. phase. In this regard, the key point is the movement of Daly:

He moves across the field, catching a pass from Ford, who passed Manu Tuilagi to pass a miss to Watson:

First Daly cycle phase

Otherwise, England would have taken the direct route. They repeated the 2019 special with Jamie George's incredible cast in Tuilagi:

And they won the penalty at the next stage. Ben Youngs bounces off the fur as Daly hides behind his curls, Itoje and David Ribbans:

Daley collects a replacement pass, pass well, and Ireland can't get off the tackle:

Daley won a penalty

To Steward's credit, Steward's strength earned another shot on goal early in the second quarter. Ford releases Tuilagi from the corridor…

…before the Steward enters the defensive line. Mac Hansen tackles but fails again:

Steward's strong carry

England also had to make the most of their penalty advantage because they were in decent form. Daly and Marchant follow the two energetic strikers — Earl and Will Stewart — as Ford feeds the Youngs:

Ford sends a pass to Marchand and another transfer to Tuilagi's flank. However, Courtney Lawes doesn't pass forward…

Tuilagi doesn't pass

…and Ford misses the subsequent penalty.

At 30 minutes, a disappointing moment can be seen reflecting their struggle with continuity. Watson jumps out of the scrum first to receive the ball and breaks the scoring line. Note that Daly is farther in the game, swapping positions with Steward:

Thanks to a fast ball, England have a chance to outflank Ireland again. In hindsight, Ford could have made a longer pass straight to Steward from this position:

Daley just happened to retreats and Ireland stops the attack:

Daley intervenes

Moreover, their failure results in a penalty as Itoje bats the ball and Vunipola comes out from the side:< /p> Penalty in Ireland

From that point on, the game moved away from England and they became more conservative. From another corridor, Genge broke to the ground after a Vunipola pass, but Ford sent the ball high and Hansen hit the ball.

They worked out this promising position at the beginning of the second half. Daly and Marchant are circling around again to overburden Ireland and threaten the edge of the defensive line. However, Youngs' pass falls at Ford's feet, and the result is:

Vunipol's Yellow The map, which was justifiably upgraded to red, was the signal for Ireland to retreat. Then, in the last 10 minutes, Smith arrived. He took over the role of defender while Steward moved to the right flank.

During this episode, England were compromised in the fights because Lawrence became an emergency flanker:

But on restart, Smith kept the center of the field where the Steward usually stands:

Like many linebackers, Smith occasionally moves to the backfield on kickoffs, and this is where he evades when the match ends footwork can come to the fore.

At the last minute, he is next to Daley. Watch Jack Willis and two tight-five defenders Rob Herring and Jeremy Loughman chase Ireland:

Willis steps back far enough to block Herring, allowing Smith to dance:

Marcus Smith takes a break with 15

Two phases later, England felt Earl was out of range on the near sideline. Keith Earles has other ideas. He notices Steward…

…and clicks on a passerby. Lawrence can't resist:

Keith Earls puts pressure on Steward

The Steward's reliability on the high ball is a top asset, but Wales planned to nullify that strength in the first warm-up in Cardiff. Their behind-the-scenes video confirmed this:

And they did a good job with clever and deceptive kicking routines:

Expect teams to do this with England over the next few months. Prepared for a free kick towards Freddie Steward (outside the throw towards the sideline), but swept in the opposite direction and hit the opponent towards the attacker from the open side. Escorting attackers out of the game. pic.twitter.com/g3WM89lgZA

— Charlie Morgan (@CharlieFelix) August 8, 2023

If teams continue with this approach, Borthwick may feel he needs more from his defender as long as England have the ball. . In Max Malins, Henry Arundell and Daly, he has three more options with different strengths.

Now it seems that Marcus Smith is fourth despite never having played there at the senior level. This strategy would certainly fall into the category of the unexpected, and naturally Smith could expect a flurry of high balls. However, little will change in defense. Smith will spend less time on the front line and more time on the back line. As previously stated, he does it as a midfielder anyway.

Bortwick chose forwards such as Freddie Burns, Zach Henry and Charlie Atkinson at full back during his time at Leicester Tigers, favoring 10 -percentage player. Distribution axle 15 — as is customary in the leading countries of the world — instead of the 10-12 system. The steward, who has twice tested on the wing (albeit once in the number 15 shirt), has occasionally been pushed out of bounds while serving at the club. Of course, he could miss the game altogether if there was a change of direction.

England need quick improvements ahead of the World Cup, especially when it comes to finding space on the flank. To do this, they will have to adapt.

Should Marcus Smith play at full back for England?

Match images with Prime Video