JEREMY GUSCOTT
OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK
There are a number of utility players selected in the England World Cup squad of 33 announced this week by head coach Steve Borthwick. I have never been a great believer in the concept, and believe you should not select a utility over a best-in-position player.
The best centre combination available to England at this World Cup is Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence, with Owen Farrell starting at fly-half. So, why would you dilute that strength by picking George Ford at 10 and moving Farrell to 12, which is not his best position?
You would be losing power and direction with Farrell at insidecentre, which is ideally where you want a powerful, direct carrier like Tuilagi to get you over the advantage line as quickly as possible. This is crucial against the top teams, and having Freddie Steward at full-back gives you another player who has the size and strength to complement Tuilagi and Lawrence. This is crucial to England at a time when the pack is not great, or stacked with strong ball-carriers. Some would argue that what you lose at 12 with Farrell in pace, dynamism, and direction, you gain in distribution and tactical kicking – but on balance I believe that you lose a great deal of effectiveness.
There have been pros and cons for Borthwick in selecting his first World Cup squad. The big plus is that, with England reduced to being a mediocre team playing mediocre rugby, he could get away with almost anything in selection without there being too much of an outcry. The big minus is that the inconsistent form of most of the players means that he has had to make a lot of marginal calls.
For instance, the most controversial calls, which are those surrounding Henry Slade and Alex Dombradt being left out, were not really that surprising.
In recent years the form of the players in the England squad has been such that no-one could have been assured of selection – Slade included.
The game which sticks in the mind because of the quality of the Exeter centre’s performance was the win against Ireland in Dublin in the 2019 Six Nations. He was outstanding, including scoring two tries, and I thought Henry Slade had arrived, and would keep his place in the starting line-up for years to come.
His record of 56 caps from his debut in 2015 to the first warm-up Test against Wales in Cardiff last weekend is impressive, but over the last few seasons he has never played so well that his place was never in doubt. In fact, there have only been a few near certainties over that period, with Farrell, Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Tom Curry and Freddie Steward the only players who have been consistent enough to be near-certainties.
Slade was a solid bet to help Lawrence bed-in during the last Six Nations, but it seems that, during the training camp, Joe Marchant, who has been mainly on bench duty as an outside-centre/ wing, came through strongly – and pressed his case after a good game against the Welsh.
I’m pleased for Marchant because he’s worked very hard for this breakthrough, but for me he’s and out-and-out 13, and not a winger. He does not play on the wing enough, and there are big differences between the two positions in defence, and attack, which are magnified at international level. I very much doubt that Marchant wants to play on the wing, just as I’d be amazed if Farrell wants to be at 12.
Take a look at Elliot Daly, who has been in and out of the squad over the last four years. I once described him as the most gifted player in the Northern Hemisphere. Daly established himself as an outside centre, and at times he was brilliant there for Wasps, but then Eddie Jones moved him to wing and then full-back for England.
The experiment of putting Daly at 15 never took a firm hold, and he has drifted around the back three. He looks more comfortable at full-back now with the Saracens support base around him – and Borthwick has included him as a back-three utility alongside a similarly versatile Max Malins.
Dombrandt must have thought he was in with a good chance at No.8 after Zach Mercer was left out early in the training camp, but he has obviously not done enough in the three months of England preparation to command a place.
He is a very good club player who can do that at Harlequins with his eyes shut. However, if I’m Dombrandt’s size, with his athleticism, I would be determined to be the number one England back row pick – irrespective of whether your competition is Ben Earl, Lewis Ludlum, Courtney Lawes, Jack Willis, Tom Curry, or Billy Vunipola.
That did not happen, but Dombrandt might still be in with a chance at No.8, because if Borthwick needs an injury replacement it will be pretty immediate with only the Channel to cross to get there.
The biggest issue facing this England squad is to get its mentality right. When Ollie Chessum first came into the England squad last year he stood out like a beacon, just as Itoje used to. Chessum wanted to win every lineout, smash every ruck, make every tackle, and constantly have his hands on the ball. It’s called enthusiasm and ambition, and it was incredibly refreshing to see because it contrasted with the wear-and-tear mental fatigue you saw in other England players.
There was some recent talk of them enjoying being underdogs – but that is nothing new, because they have been underdogs for years now!
It is good to hear that Chessum is on his way back to action because England play with a low intensity a lot of the time, and mentally this side has got to reboot. We are still waiting for that performance which gives these players the belief that they can beat Argentina, Wales, and Australia, to take command of their side of the World Cup draw.
