Sir Clive Woodward has applauded Steve Borthwick’s decision to start Marcus Smith, but has admitted he’d of made one major change to the England XV.
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The World Cup winner believes England’s clash with France was always set up to be a potential classic but ‘it now promises to be a humdinger’.
Woodward delivered his verdict of the XV in his column for the Mail Online, going over four key points.
#1. Woodward’s three point verdict
On Starting Marcus Smith:
Woodward said: “It is a huge call from Borthwick to leave his captain Owen Farrell on the bench and replace him at fly-half with Smith.
“Yet once again, I have to applaud Borthwick for his selection decision. In his short stint in charge of the team, he has already shown that he has no favourites and is not afraid to make tough calls.
“He is demonstrating he has all the skills to be an international coach of the highest quality. Borthwick has got the rest of us guessing right now.
“Every England fan turning up at Twickenham on Saturday will be hugely excited about the match because Smith is playing. He is the sort of player supporters want to watch.
“From England’s perspective, it’s important Smith plays a part in a winning cause. But on a wider point, it’s important players like him excite the crowd. That’s how rugby grows as a sport.”