Steve Borthwick is under pressure and confronted by a stick-or-twist selection dilemma this week – but the England head coach does have some potential trump cards. George Ford is one of them.
This is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t scenario for the man in charge of the struggling national team.
Make changes in a bid to spark a vital revival, or stick with the latest chosen men and hope that another week together will mean significant strides can be made before the showdown with France at Twickenham on Saturday.
Who would be a selector? It is a thankless task, in a situation like this. There is no right answer.
Borthwick continually speaks about the quest for cohesion, so that is bound to be a primary factor in the next 48 hours, before announcing his line-up on Thursday for Le Crunch.
Yet, he must also be mindful of a new opposition presenting a different threat, after the 27-22 defeat against Ireland.
Ollie Chessum could add an extra 12kg to England’s pack to face an onslaught from France
Ben Curry played well against Ireland and deserves another shot alongside twin brother Tom
Early on, France will unleash a direct onslaught using a massive pack, so the logical step would be for England to consciously muscle up.
That might mean promoting Ollie Chessum to the starting XV ahead of the Ben Curry, on the basis that he is around 12kg heavier than the Sale flanker.
However, that would remove one of the English assets in Dublin; a fast, dynamic back-row unit which eclipsed the reigning champions at the breakdown.
Ben Curry played well and his twin brother Tom was outstanding. Deploying them in tandem worked and it could do again, but England will have to drive to survive; by meeting the force of the Gallic pack head-on. Good luck with that.
The bold call this time would be to start with Tom Willis, to offer route-one force at No 8, with the Currys both keeping their places. That combination would have balance, even if still puts strain on the lineout.
Then Ben Earl could explode off the bench full of simmering indignation and energy midway through the second half, against a tiring defence, when his pace could be a valuable weapon.
France’s tendency to kick long presents a potential opportunity to counter-attack from deep, which could in turn lead to an argument for switching Marcus Smith to full-back again, to give him the chance to seek space from the backfield.
But, that would be contrary to the cohesion priority, so the better bet would involve a playmaker switch on the bench.
Keep Smith at No 10 and resist the temptation to play another playmaker in the starting XV
Steve Borthwick must be ready to turn to the bench if he needs to chase the game or close it out
This is not the right moment to pick Fin Smith at 10 and Borthwick has been lamenting his side’s lack of experience and nous at key moments. So, it makes sense to call upon the senior fly-half with 98 caps to his name.
Last year against France in Lyon, Ford was majestic, playing flat to the line, as England came close to an epic upset. It was the best display by an England 10 since the last World Cup, at least.
On Saturday, Borthwick should persist with Marcus Smith in the starting role, but be ready to turn to the bench, to tap into the wisdom of his most experienced back, to help chase the game or close it out.
There is a decision to be made at hooker too. Retain Luke Cowan-Dickie or restore the recent former captain, Jamie George?
This column advocates sticking with Cowan-Dickie to start, when France are full of fire and power up front, and have George to add leadership nous and set-piece resilience off the bench.
Imagine the benefit of enhancing the matchday 23 with two men who have led their country, when smart decision-makers are at a premium.
If England just want a box-kicking controller to come on at scrum-half (although Alex Mitchell could go for 80 minutes if required), then they should pick Ben Spencer over Harry Randall. The Bath captain is no Test veteran, but he has loads of big-occasion pedigree from the club game.
On the wing, Ollie Sleightholme is the likely front-runner to replace Cadan Murley, but it depends how much Borthwick is guided by the need to enhance experience levels.
George Ford could offer crucial leadership off the bench, with 98 Test caps to his name
Former captain Jamie George, who is back from injury, could also be a key weapon off the bench
If that is his key selection criteria this week, then it makes sense to pick Elliot Daly on the left flank, over a rookie who has been out of action for more than a month.
Alternatively, the head coach could go with in-form Tom Roebuck and have Daly in reserve – either as part of a 6-2 bench split if two playmakers are on the field from the start, or as a third back if England stick with Marcus Smith at 10 and Freddie Steward at full-back.
France’s replacement loosehead prop is Cyril Baille – not a monster – and he will have a relatively light lock, Hugo Auradou, packing down behind him, which could pave the way for England to recall Asher Opoku-Fordjour as their replacement tighthead, instead of the heavier Joe Heyes.
The Sale sensation could offer more around the field while also possessing disproportionate set-piece clout.
There is so much to consider and no easy solutions, but here is this column’s reshuffle plan…
My England team to play France: Steward; Roebuck, Lawrence, Slade, Freeman; M Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart; Itoje (capt), Martin; T Curry, Willis, B Curry. Replacements: George, Baxter, Opoku-Fordjour, Chessum, Earl, Spencer, Ford, Daly.
CUT THE FAFFING AND GET ON WITH IT
One pleasing aspect of the opening Six Nations weekend was the merciful lack of pre-match pomp-and-ceremony nonsense in Dublin.
The tradition was for both teams to be presented to the Irish president and it is fair to say that the ludicrous routine never did anything for the players’ state of mental readiness, or for spectators’ anticipation levels.
Gloriously, there were no gentle handshakes and bland pleasantries this time, just a bloke with a mic singing The Fields of Athenry, in an attempt to stir the dozing crowd into life.
It didn’t work – not even close – but it was an improvement all the same. To hell with the formalities and just GET ON WITH IT.
Thankfully, the tedious handshakes were canned for England’s visit to the Aviva Stadium
They know how to lay on a show at the Stade de France these days, on and off the pitch
Sadly, no amount of subsequent drum-banging could rouse much noise at all out of the stands at the Aviva Stadium, which delivered a library-level hush for most of the game.
Meanwhile, the Parisian night-lights routine was a major hit once again, last Friday, before France v Wales.
They know how to lay on a show at the Stade de France these days, on and off the pitch.
IGNORE VIEWERS AT YOUR PERIL
There was a strong start to this year’s championship in terms of TV viewing figures, which was timely, given that the next rights deal is up for grabs.
There was a peak audience of 3.8 million on ITV for the France-Wales opener last Friday. The following day, close to 4 million watched Scotland v Italy on the BBC, while Ireland v England attracted 5.2 million on ITV. And that’s before the tournament builds to a climax next month.
Such a wide reach is exactly what the game needs. As Maro Itoje, the new England captain, rightly pointed out, this is no time to be reducing the number of eyes on the sport – it needs to be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible, who are not already committed die-hards.
Maro Itoje knows the value of getting every pair of eyes possible on rugby during the Six Nations
Here’s hoping the latest rumours are true and that the sensible solution will involve Six Nations remaining partly or wholly on free-to-air TV, as part of a package that requires subscription access to view summer and November Tests, in the guise of the new Nations Championship.
That would work just fine. At this time of year, the spotlight is on rugby. The message to the authorities must be, turn that off at your peril.
THE LAST WORD
The thorny issue of promotion and relegation is firmly back on the agenda, after the pointless Welsh capitulation in Paris.
The following day, in the Rugby Europe Championship, Georgia routed newcomers Switzerland 110-0, as further proof that they have out-grown their second-tier surroundings.
That glaring result came days after head coach Richard Cockerill issued another plea for Georgia to be given a shot at joining the elite and who can blame him?
While Georgia are the leading European country outside the Six Nations bloc, Spain and Portugal both won again, to enhance their quest for World Cup qualification, amid growing support for rugby in the Iberian peninsula.
Imagine how transformative it would be for them to have a route – at least theoretically – up to the big league too.
Some of this is just about innate fairness and being a grown-up sport; not running everything based on an old-school-tie, post-colonial landscape of cosy familiarity.
Georgia crushed Rugby Europe newcomers Switzerland 110-0 on Saturday
Georgia have spent years building a compelling case to join the Six Nations, to no avail
The Six Nations should be about meritocratic, elite sport and not just about propping up a status quo. How dull and limiting, if it never evolves and grows.
Georgia have spent years systematically building a compelling case. Sure, they could do with sorting a direct flight from Tbilisi to London at least, but their sporting claims are water-tight.
And if Wales did ever go down, the dismay of their fans would be somewhat off-set by the prospect of rugby weekends in Madrid or Lisbon. The same applies for supporters of the other home nations plus the French or Italians, if either Spain or Portugal ended up joining the elite at some stage.
Imagine a promotion and relegation play-off over two legs. As it stands, Georgia would fancy their chances of beating Wales and if Warren Gatland’s team lose against Italy in Rome on Saturday, they will fall below Los Lelos into 12th place in the World Rugby rankings, which seems like a symbolic indication that the time has come for a shake-up.
Sadly, rugby is not a grown-up sport in this sense. Oval-ball turkeys don’t ever vote for Christmas.
The game is awash with narrow-minded self-interest and the up-shot is that it all stays the same and safe, with a mythical, laughable Six Nations booby prize of a wooden spoon, where genuine jeopardy should be.
Georgia head coach and former England prop Richard Cockerill is constantly making his case
It’s time to create proper tension and drama by having a Six Nations relegation play-off
What does it mean; that the bottom team have to spend a year baking cakes? What an out-dated relic of amateurism.
Create proper tension and drama by allowing a way in – and out. Even the most reactionary ‘blazers’ should be able to compute the fact that do-or-die play-offs would draw a huge audience and that expanding the European power base of the sport would become a profitable exercise for all parties, in due course.
The alternative is that, after round two, we could have near-certainty about which team will finish at the foot of the table, without any additional factors to generate edge.
If the Welsh players had the added desperation of trying to avoid the drop, it would galvanise them – and it would unite the country behind them in the hope of staying in the annual, cross-border carnival.
