After England’s disappointing start to their 2023 Guinness Six Nations campaign, as the Calcutta Cup once again belongs to Scotland, the conversation has been raised on who should really be wearing England’s number 10 jersey. England’s new Head Coach Steve Borthwick is presented with a blessing in disguise, as he has two of the world’s most talented fly halves, yet only one can start at 10 come kick off.
Marcus Smith is the man who should keep wearing the number 10 for England, with Farrell learning to live with his move to 12. Given time, this partnership can grow in time for seamless cohesion at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Owen Farrell has already proven that he can step-inside for another world-class fly-half to take England’s reigns, so why can’t we see this again with Smith?
The George Ford and Owen Farrell partnership at 10 and 12, was an integral part of England’s successes in 2019 and 2020. The two could read each others’ minds, effortlessly setting up attacking plays, and distributing the ball to the outside backs. With Ford and Farrell steering the England attack, they reached the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final, as the two led the line and provided the ammunition for Manu Tuilagi, in the monumental semi-final win over the All Blacks. The duo would win the 2020 Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup together, with no England fan calling for a change to that attacking set-up.
Just because there has been some teething issues in the new Smith and Farrell partnership, England fans are calling for a re-shuffle, and to drop one of the two to the bench. Partnerships take time to form, and it was never going to be an effortless transition. Farrell’s ankle surgery wrote him out of action for the majority of 2022, with Marcus Smith establishing a neat partnership with Henry Slade in that year’s Six Nations. Smith had an acceptable first outing in the 2022 Six Nations, as England finished third, improving on Farrell’s last attempt when England dropped to a lowly fifth.
However, Farrell’s return at the end of 2022 could not be overlooked, and the Saracen slotted back into the number 12 spot for the 2023 Six Nations. There has been a step in the right direction with the coaching staff, as Harlequins attack coach Nic Evans has joined the side with Borthwick. Evans builds the Harlequins attack around Marcus Smith, which brings the enigmatic best out of the fly half. When the 23-year-old is allowed to orchestrate the run of attack, and play with a mesmerising creative freedom, Harlequins are successful. Look no further than their 2021 Gallagher Premiership title triumph as proof of this.
On his day, Marcus Smith is a match-winner. The 2022 Summer Tour of Australia will be best remembered for the image of Smith breaking away from an army of gold and green, as he scored the series deciding try in the third test. He is able to keep his head in the most pressurised moments, and can kick England to victory when called upon. His flawless kicking edged England in front for a 27-26 win over South Africa, in the 2021 Autumn Internationals.
England need to keep both players on the pitch, and having Farrell at inside centre is the best viable option. Farrell is a more than capable centre, able to bring aggression and technical brilliance to the middle of the park. A ruthless defender, Farrell is a stronger presence than Smith in the defensive line. If Farrell can learn his lessons from the RFU school of tackling, and stop making the headlines for the wrong reasons, then England can continue to field their vicious defender at inside centre.
Smith and Farrell have nine months until the 2023 Rugby World Cup. They have four more Six Nations fixtures and a run of World Cup warm-ups to iron out the creases. Smith should stay at fly half, with a world class midfielder in Farrell occupying the 12 channel. Smith and Farrell need to co-exist, and to not fight for the same spot, if England want to turn their Six Nations Championship around, and build to an upcoming Rugby World Cup.