- England are faced with the choice of who to play as number 10 in their top team.
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The only way I would like to see Marcus Smith and Fin Smith start together for England is with Marcus playing at flyhalf and Fin at inside centre.
Moving Marcus to fullback is a temporary solution. What to do in an emergency situation. He is one of the best 10 in the world, but not one of the best 15 in the world.
If you cut and change, you lose one of the talents of your best players. If I were to give advice to Marcus I would tell him to stick to 10 points and fight until the end, even if it means getting benched for better or worse.
Despite all his talent, I still believe Marcus should be England’s starting fly-half.
Inside center is a position that Steve Borthwick must watch. The center combination of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade isn’t working and it’s time to try something else. The 10-12 axis is very important and to be honest England haven’t had a number 12 good enough to control our attacking game since Will Greenwood.
I always want a true ball player at 12 and Fin has all the attributes to be a world-class inside center and adds another real attacking threat to what could be an incredible backline.
Marcus Smith remains England’s best No.10 and should start in the upcoming Six Nations.
Smith is one of the best 10 in the world, but he is not one of the best 15 in the world for England.
Finn Smith has all the qualities to become a world-class inside center alongside England’s best backline.
England have excellent players in their back three and need ball-playing skills to get them into the game. Changing from 10 to 12 is much easier than changing from 10 to 15, so I think a pin would be perfect.
Playing at 10 every week for his club improves his ability to bring a real threat at 12. He’s not that big, but defensively he’s proven he has the ability to handle the physical aspects that an interior center needs. In fact, I’m sure he’ll love the challenge.
In England, things now need to go one step further. They don’t look like the team that will win the World Cup.
I would love to see the Finn start at center alongside his club-mate Tommy Freeman.
Neither of them play that position at Northampton and I would like to see Borthwick try to persuade the Saints coaches to help him there as part of a new club-country deal.
Even without George Furbank and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, England have plenty of talent. I hope they pick a team that makes Ireland manager Simon Easterby think ‘wow, that’s really fast’ when they get to Dublin. Seeing a midfield of Marcus, Fin and Freeman will really make the Irish think twice.
I would love to see Cadan Murley and Ollie Sleightholme spread their wings. Two pure try scorers. Furbank will return at age 15 once he recovers. If George Hendy is available I would like to see him given a jersey in the meantime.
Moving Marcus to full-back is a stopgap measure that won’t work long-term for England.
Tommy Freeman (centre) and Smith (right) could form a lethal partnership as England’s centres.
I don’t think Freddie Steward is fast enough to do 15 at the very end of the game. I’m not talking about building a team to squeeze out any results in the Six Nations, I’m talking about building a team that can win a World Cup.
Winning a World Cup requires constant energy and Freddie won’t worry the biggest teams with his attacks from full-back. He’s another guy I’d like to see tested at 12, as is Alex Lozowski.
Borthwick has a variety of options and now is the time to give them a try. But moving Marcus to fullback doesn’t sit right with me.
