Steve Borthwick has given the “world class” Marcus Smith a vote of confidence as England’s goal-kicker for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup after sticking by the Harlequins playmaker despite his recent wobble from the tee.
Smith will retain the kicking duties against Scotland despite handing over to Fin Smith against France, when the Northampton fly-half guided England to a 26-25 victory. Marcus Smith missed two straightforward kicks against Les Bleus in the second half, hooking both left, before Fin Smith took over and kicked crucial conversions in the 71st and 80th minutes.
Marcus Smith was also off-target with a conversion against Ireland, again dragging it left, leaving him with a 57.14% success rate in the tournament. Last year Smith revealed he adopted military breathing techniques in an effort to improve his goal-kicking after costly misses in the two-Test series defeat by the All Blacks.
Fin Smith offered his namesake his staunch backing as an “unbelievable goal-kicker” last week and revealed the decision to make the change against France came about when the assistant coach Kevin Sinfield came on to the field carrying his tee, saying he and Marcus did not discuss it at the time.
That explanation was at odds with Borthwick’s, who said after the match that “the players make the decisions on the grass”, but after sticking with the Smiths in their dual playmaking roles for Saturday’s match, the head coach said it was an easy decision to keep Marcus on duty as England seek to end a four-match losing run against Scotland.
“He’s a world-class goal-kicker. We all know that, so it’s very simple,” said Borthwick. “Marcus is a gamechanger. Marcus is a player with incredible ability. Sometimes, the opposition focuses very much on him. Sometimes, that creates space for others. Sometimes, there will be a window for him to find. With Fin Smith and Marcus Smith, we have two ball-players, two people who see space in the frontline and in the backfield, and that’s going to be very important this weekend.”
Borthwick has made one change to his side to face Scotland, with Ollie Chessum coming in at lock in place of George Martin. Chessum impressed from the bench against France and will make his first start in 11 months after knee and shoulder injuries ruled him out of the autumn internationals and the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand respectively.
Chessum does not bring the same heft as Martin but is a more seasoned lineout operator – an area where England struggled against France in the first half. “He had a very good impact from the bench in the French game, with the way he played in that last 20 or 30 minutes,” added Borthwick of Chessum. “He played really well and he is gradually looking fitter and stronger after having a period of absence through injury. So, it is less about a tactical and technical decision and more the feel that this is just the right game for him to start and George Martin to be on the bench.
“He’s grown into a lineout leader and caller which wasn’t something he’d done previously, he’s applying himself diligently to do that. All that points to a guy who wants to improve himself. He has the respect of everybody, he’s had a couple of injury setbacks and worked incredibly diligently to get back. When he walked back into the squad you could see how happy everyone else was. He has a presence and a positivity about him that rubs off on everyone else.”
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Scotland are due to name their side on Thursday and though it remains to be seen whether Finn Russell is fit to play after his head injury against Ireland, Borthwick is preparing for his side to face the Bath fly-half. “Scotland are very smart in the way they play and they have a 10 in Finn Russell who many people say is arguably the best fly-half in the world at the moment,” said the head coach. “He has a very varied kicking game and a really attacking kicking game and we have to be very sharp to make sure that space is covered because he can find it.”
The Rugby Football Union has confirmed that England will break from the norm and host four autumn internationals this year, with Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina all due at Twickenham. In British & Irish Lions years, England normally play three autumn matches but the RFU has opted to add a money-spinning fourth, with the Australia fixture taking place outside the official Test window.
