England rugby legend Dylan Hartley has urged Steve Borthwick to be bold with his team selection, for this Saturday’s high-stakes Six Nations battle with Ireland. Hartley believes that the return of Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell will pose Borthwick with some tough selection decisions, as the match day squad is set to be announced today at 2pm.
During a candid interview with Gambling Zone, the former England captain discussed how he would be excited to see Marcus Smith return to the starting fly half spot, yet can not see passed the consistent selection of George Ford.
“I can’t see Steve Borthwick changing George Ford, but then again, where England are in the tournament I don’t think they will learn anything about themselves with established players on the field. I would understand if some more inexperienced guys were selected as the experience will be great for them, but the same old story of professional sport, fans and the RFU demanding results will most probably mean it’s an experienced side selected.
“I think Alex Mitchell will come back in and rightly so.” Hartley added. “He is the in-form scrum-half. He’s the sort of guy that can spark something, he is an instinctive player. He is the sort of guy that gives it a crack which is really good. I think what you need outside of that is someone that wants the ball as well.”
“I do think there is an opportunity for Steve Borthwick to be bold in his selection for Ireland. The question Borthwick faces is does he stick with his tried and tested or do you start to move on? Marcus Smith has been out, but now he’s back, where does he fit into the side? Does Borthwick wait for George Ford to retire and then play Marcus Smith? It would be too late by then. He needs to be bold with his selection decisions.”
Looking further down the back-line, Hartley cast his opinion on another area of debate for Steve Borthwick. The midfield channels have once again opened up to ambiguity, after Ollie Lawrence replaced Fraser Dingwall at 12 to play Scotland, and a match-fit Manu Tuilagi was left out of the squad entirely. Henry Slade retained his place at 13 for the trip to Murrayfield, with Harltey pondering the three options that could slot in alongside him in the centres for the match against Ireland.
“Then you have the whole obsession with picking between Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence. I’ve always loved playing alongside a powerhouse twelve, like an extra back rower who gives you clear punch and direction. But then I don’t think that Fraser Dingwall would have done too badly against Scotland if he kept his place in the team.
“For me, Dingwall is a really intelligent rugby player. He isn’t known for crash bash but is quietly capable due to intelligent running lines. He’s got soft, silky hands and makes appropriate passes and I think a player like that was missing (against Scotland). He didn’t do anything wrong in the opening two games of the tournament and then, suddenly, Lawrence is back available, and he comes back into the team.
“Being honest, I don’t think that really worked. England must have been frustrated with that Scotland performance. There were a lot of individual errors in there and, on another day, they catch balls, the passing is more accurate, and things aren’t as bad.”
Hartley added on to discuss how he would rally behind the bold move to play the young guns against Ireland. The likes of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Chandler Cunningham-South could provide an element of the unknown against Ireland, in what would be an excellent testing ground for the next generation of England talents.
“I don’t think England fans would mind if they came second or third if there was a clear sign of what’s to come. At this stage of the tournament, if England can’t win it, then you can make a case for Borthwick to select some of the younger, more inexperienced guys with one eye on the future who can learn from the experience.
“I love a lot of the experienced players in the team, but to me, it feels like Borthwick has a foot in both camps in terms of his selection where I think that the future of the England team would be better served by giving the next generation an opportunity from here on at this tournament.
“Equally, when blooding young guys it’s great to have some old gnarly war horses around them, we cant just go select and under 21s side and hope for the best. These senior players instil confidence and calm when dotted about a team and will lead to better performances from the inexperienced guys, it’s such a fine balance.”