"Drop Farrell" - Warren Gatland reveals how England would line-up under him

"My decision not to select Marcus Smith in my original British and Irish Lions squad for South Africa remains one of my burning regrets from the 2021 tour," said Gatland, who was writing for The Telegraph.

"I should have held my nerve, backed my instinct. Smith was one of the main points for discussion during our selection meeting.

"Despite what some people think, I am not normally conservative in my selections, I am actually a risk-taker." 

He went onto say that he believes Smith, who was named in the squad as one of three fly-halves this morning, should be given the reins instead of playing second fiddler to captain Owen Farrell.

"I am not watching England’s training every day and not privy to how the players are performing, but looking from the outside, I would be starting him.

"The key thing with Marcus is to give him full responsibility. You want him to be taking the kick-offs, kicks at goal and kicks to touch as well as running the game by getting the ball in his hands as often as possible. It is important to building rhythm into a game.

"When he has played before alongside Owen Farrell, at times he becomes the second receiver and is not running the game. I believe to get the best out of him, you have to give him the reins."

Head coach Steve Borthwick confirmed his final 33-man squad for the tournament this morning with a number of major stars missing out on the squad.

In the following article, we examine the five players specifically mentioned by Greenwood during his review of the squad.

Greenwood wrote: "Just a rockstar; a competitor, a winner, a champion, a goal-kicker under pressure. It seems like he has to keep proving himself, which surprises me. But I think he has to play 10."

Greenwood wrote: "Ellis would have been close to the full-time captain, surely. Eddie Jones moved him to defacto full-back and Steve wants him on the ball as much as possible, leading and snarling. It is a big World Cup for him. Can he prove himself on the international stage? Domestically, he’s bossed it."

Greenwood wrote: "Already authoritative like Peter Schmeichel; now can he become a ball-player like Ederson? He is worth his weight in gold because of aerial dominance. Wigglesworth needs to get hold of him and sharpen those skills because Hugo Keenan and Thomas Ramos, for example, offer more with more ball in hand."

Greenwood wrote: "Another absolutely guaranteed selection, despite being left out at the start of the last Six Nations. Now can he go Saturday, Saturday, Saturday at the back end of the tournament? Strap him up, get him out there. One more gig. Just like Rocky IV."

Greenwood wrote: "Among the first names you would write down. He can play across the back row and he’s experienced from 2019. He has also added something to his game by working on his handling."