Farrell, Ford or Smith – Former England captain picks his Rugby World Cup fly-half

Ex-England skipper Dylan Hartley has given his view on who should take the primary playmaking role for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Owen Farrell, George Ford and Marcus Smith are all competing for the position in France in what is a hotly-contested jersey.

England’s warm-up games, which start this weekend against Wales, should be instructive as to what way head coach Steve Borthwick is leaning.

Hartley played with both Ford and Farrell in his time with the Red Rose, while he played against Smith when featuring for his club side Northampton Saints.

Six Nations battle

With Ford recovering from a nasty Achilles injury, Farrell and Smith battled for the shirt in the Six Nations, with the former starting three matches at 10 and the latter two.

“I would love for Owen to play at 10 and for Steve Borthwick to make his mind up and go with him for all these opening games,” Hartley told the PA news agency.

“The team ticks when there is certainty, and I love the conviction of seeing Owen at 10. If he’s at 10, then it frees up Ollie Lawrence or Manu Tuilagi, or whatever combination there is outside him.

“As the leader, heartbeat of the side and world-class player when given the reins, Owen is integral to how England will perform.

“He’s not just the fly-half and goal-kicker, he’s everything to that squad. He’s not a young kid any more, he’s a battle-hardened warrior.

“He’s still matching where he needs to be physically, it’s not like they’re carrying him just for his experience, whereas you’d probably argue I was just there for experience and captaincy instead of performance.

“In that regard, you hit a tipping point, and my tipping point came pre-30-years-old. Owen ticks all the boxes for me.”

Players are already doing what they can to convince Borthwick to take them to France, but Saturday’s match with Wales will be particularly crucial for fringe members of the squad.

With the final World Cup squad being named on Monday, August 7, it will be the players’ only on-field opportunity to stake their claims.

No experimenting

The head coach may therefore go with a more experimental line-up, but Hartley doesn’t believe that Borthwick should do it that way.

He would like the Red Rose to get more consistency in selection as they seek to get their combinations sorted ahead of the global tournament.

“You want to roll these games into the World Cup and win them all. You don’t want to experiment, and I’d like to see conviction from the off. Don’t mess around and pick the team you would for a World Cup final,” he added.

“Pick a team against Wales to win, not to work on combinations. If you experiment with a player, you might learn more about him, but you get more from a winning team. You go through the gears easier when you’re winning.

“Uncertainty can keep environments competitive and honest, but you also need a little bit of comfort.

“Injuries will come, but deal with those retrospectively and go win the games, which will build momentum and confidence.”

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