‘England must opt for Smith or Farrell’
PETER Winterbottom says England must select either Owen Farrell or Marcus Smith at fly-half as selecting both “limits England’s attack”.
Eddie Jones’ side secured a series win in Australia last weekend for only the second time ever, but the “New England” attack flattered to deceive, lacking a creative spark.
Former England openside Winterbottom, who won 58 caps between 19821993 and toured with the Lions in 1983 and 1993, believes a series win Down Under is always an achievement but was left underwhelmed by England’s attacking play.
He said: “It was important to come away with a series win against an Australian side that hasn’t really hit its straps. Some of the Australian sides did well in Super Rugby so I was expecting a bit more from Australia, but the results were positive for England. But there were several areas where England didn’t perform to the level they’d hope to, particularly in the midfield.
“I don’t think Marcus Smith was able to show what he can do, he seemed to be held back a bit and it was only in the last Test when he was playing at first receiver that he got going. I just don’t understand the upside of playing Farrell at first receiver when you have Smith there.”
The ex-Harlequins back row, now director of rugby at Esher, is concerned that Jones doesn’t seem to know what his best backline looks like and believes it’s time to end the Smith and Farrell experiment.
He said: “You’ve got to play one or the other. You either play Farrell at 10 or Smith at 10. I don’t think it works with the current 1012 axis. I thought the whole midfield didn’t work last Saturday.
“Our attack was very limited, and our defence was poor. I was surprised Australia didn’t capitalise on some of our defensive errors and make more of it. We got away with it because Smith got that interception and that was seven points that won us the game.”
Winterbottom points out that it’s not just England that have two talented flyhalves as New Zealand have the same conundrum with Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga.
Mo’unga is a six-time Super Rugby champion with the Crusaders and similar to Smith in terms of his diminutive size but silky footwork.
New Zealand experimented at the 2019 World Cup with Barrett at fullback and Mo’unga at 10 but after only reaching the semi-finals they reverted back to selecting Barrett at fly-half with Mo’unga forced to settle for a spot on the bench since.
Winterbottom said: “It’s the same problem New Zealand have with Mo’unga and Barrett. Which one do you pick? They’ve gone for Barrett but Mo’unga’s a hell of a player, unpredictable and a great runner. It’s a difficult decision for New Zealand to make and it’s a difficult decision for England to make as well.”
It seems all of England’s World Cup rivals possess an out and out physical inside centre who can cause a threat to the opposition but with Manu Tuilagi’s injury woes and Jones opting against using Gloucester’s Mark Atkinson, England find themselves with a problem position.
Winterbottom feels Farrell is wasted at 12 and added: “You need 12 to be a running threat. Farrell is more of a distributor and kicker, and I think if we’re trying to play an attacking game then we need a 12 who can be a threat, who can hold defences.
“Inside centre has been a very difficult position for England for some time I think because it’s a hard position to play; you’ve got to be very instinctive and have a good skill set. Possibly someone like Henry Slade would be able to fit in as he’s got a good distribution game but is also a good runner.”
Winterbottom is currently director of rugby at newly promoted Esher in National 1 and after guiding them to the National 2 South title, he is looking forward to the challenge that the third tier will provide his side.
He said: “It’s another step up for the lads. It’s going to be more competitive, and we know we’re going to have to be on the top of our game on a more consistent basis. I’m confident we’ll have a side who can play a style of rugby that can beat a few sides. How well we do in the league I couldn’t say but I think we’ll be competitive, and we’ll certainly play some good rugby.
“The physicality is probably the main thing. When you’re playing against better sides you can’t get away with making unforced errors. You can get away with it in Div 2 to a certain extent, but you get punished in Div 1. So, hopefully we can get the skill level improved so we can compete.”
Esher kick off their campaign with back-toback daunting encounters against two sides with title aspirations in Rams and Rosslyn Park.
Winterbottom added: “The first two teams we play will probably end up near the top of the league. First up we play Rams away and then we play Rosslyn Park at home. Rosslyn Park have beefed up their side substantially, so it’ll be a massive test for us against consistent Div 1 sides. It’s a bit daunting starting off with those teams but we’ve got to play them at some time so why not first off ?”
Last month, Esher trained with the Barbarians ahead of their clash with England at Twickenham and Winterbottom says it was a fantastic experience that will benefit his side going in the long run.
He said: “It was great that the boys got a chance to get together, and it was such a good experience. To play against those boys was an eye opener for them, the speed and the skill levels of the Baa-Baas was intense. From our point of view, it was really good fun and productive and the guys loved every minute of it.”