England drop Marcus Smith and retain George Ford for training squad
England have taken the significant decision to omit Marcus Smith from their training squad and recall the fit-again George Ford in the leadup to the Six Nations game against France next week. Ford will spend this week training with the national squad in Brighton while Smith will now play for his club Harlequins this Saturday.
Steve Borthwick, the England head coach, says Smith will still be among the players invited to regather in Bagshot on Sunday before the France game at Twickenham, but the mood music is deafening. It would now appear that Ford, who used to work closely with Borthwick at Leicester, and the squad’s captain, Owen Farrell, are both viewed as better suited to England’s current gameplan than the more youthful Smith.
In many ways it merely confirms the direction of recent weeks, with Smith having been given a total of nine minutes off the bench in England’s past two games, against Italy and Wales. The moment Borthwick confirmed Farrell as his captain he signalled his preference at fly-half and a desire to reintegrate Ford back into the squad is now threatening to nudge Smith further down the pecking order.
Given Smith was schooled at Brighton College, where England will be working this week, his demotion will sting even more. This time last year England’s previous head coach, Eddie Jones, suggested there was “no ceiling to how good Smith could be” and said he “could be an absolutely outstanding player at Test level by the World Cup” – but, as Danny Cipriani can also testify, creative attacking playmakers still seem to be regarded as a luxury item in certain quarters of English rugby. Ford, 29, has not played for England since winning the last of his caps in the 2021 Six Nations. He fell out of favour under Jones and has only just returned for Sale following the ruptured achilles tendon he sustained in the 2022 Premiership final.
Borthwick, however, is clearly keen to tap into his tactical expertise and long-time relationship with Farrell as his side prepare for two tough games against France and Ireland in the space of eight days. “George Ford and I haven’t had the opportunity to work together for nearly a year,” Borthwick said. “I think a number of players have got a lot to offer England and that’s why I want to build depth in every position.”
Smith is being challenged to go away and impress for Harlequins, starting against Exeter at Twickenham this weekend. The same two sides met at the same venue in the 2021 Premiership final when Smith was the catalyst for a thrilling comeback which earned Quins the title and also led to his being called up for the British & Irish Lions that summer. He has since collected 20 England caps but now faces a very different type of mental challenge.
“I want to see him get in a 10 shirt, boss a game, boss the team and reassemble with us on Sunday afternoon,” Borthwick said, suggesting Smith would benefit from more competitive minutes. “Marcus hasn’t had very much game-time over the last two or three weeks, so I think the right thing to do is for him to go and get match sharpness. What I ask players to do is continue to improve themselves as players and be in the best position ready to go as soon as their opportunity arises. Sometimes their role changes within the team.”
Borthwick also suggested, with Ford back in the fold, that there might be scope to rekindle the Ford-Farrell axis at 10 and 12, once a familiar feature under Jones. “It allows us another string to our bow and to carry, when I choose to do so, a different type of player on the bench,” Borthwick said. “I think it’s an asset of ours.”
Jonny May and the suspended Manu Tuilagi will also train with the squad this week but Saracens’ Max Malins is unavailable with a sore ankle. The British & Irish Lions, meanwhile, have confirmed that a feasibility study into the possibility a Lions women’s tour, potentially to France or New Zealand, has yielded “positive initial findings”.