Mike Brown worried about power struggle at England

Planet Rugby

Former England international Mike Brown is concerned about the possible impact Owen Farrell could have on Marcus Smith in the international arena moving forward.

The Newcastle Falcons full-back has drawn on past experience in the England camp as a base of reference as he recalls how fly-half Danny Cipriani struggled alongside Farrell.

Writing in his column for MailOnline, the Harlequins legend remembers the 2018 tour to South Africa and feels that a playmaking “power struggle” could well happen again.

An alpha male

“If there’s a power struggle on the pitch then you’ve got a problem,” he said.

“I saw it first hand with Owen and Danny Cipriani on the 2018 tour of South Africa. Danny was playing fly-half but Owen was still trying to make the calls from 12 and play it his way.

“You can see his body language towards Danny on the TV footage. It just didn’t work.

“Owen’s an alpha male. That’s what makes him such a good leader. He’s brilliant at team-talks, brilliant at bringing energy and brilliant at setting the tone in defence.”

England are preparing to face Tonga, Australia and South Africa at Twickenham in their Autumn Nations Series games and Brown is keen to see Smith at the helm.

“When Harlequins went on their charge to win the Premiership title last season, Marcus was the guy calling the shots,” he added.

“We had this 21-year-old kid leading meetings in a room full of international players and it all felt completely natural.

“A genuine triple-threat player with his kicking, passing and running ability.

“I just hope they give Marcus full autonomy and don’t clip his wings. It will be a step up in terms of game-management at Test level and you have to find the balance, but that area of his game has developed a lot.”

 

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