Ranked: England fly-half depth chart as star ‘leapfrogs’ Lions tourists but ‘duel’ emerges
From left to right: George Ford, Fin Smith and Owen Farrell
This has been a summer of success for England, with Steve Borthwick’s side clinching a clean sweep on the Americas tour and 13 of the squad firing the British and Irish Lions to a series victory over the Wallabies, but that generates some tough calls for the head coach.
Right across the pitch, Borthwick faces some major selection headaches, with some players emerging from the woodwork on the summer tour in the absence of those Lions players, while other familiar names have also pushed their case with strong displays.
That is particularly apparent at fly-half, with the England boss now torn between four genuine candidates for the starting shirt.
Fin Smith and Marcus Smith rounded off a strong Test season with a spot on the Lions tour, with M. Smith earning a spot on the bench for Test One, while George Ford enjoyed a stellar summer tour to the Americas, notably taking on the co-captaincy and later full captaincy against Argentina. Elsewhere, Owen Farrell marked his return to the Test arena with the Lions, featuring off the bench in Test Two and Test Three against the Wallabies and Charlie Atkinson also made his Test debut after some impressive performances for England A and Gloucester.
With all these players available to Borthwick, who gets the nod to start? Well, here is our take on how the England depth chart looks at fly-half.
Starter: George Ford
He might have found himself pushed aside for the Smith’s last year, but the way he ended the season currently has Ford leapfrogging the rest into the starting spot. This could seem a contentious call, given he sits above three Lions tourists here, but the way that Ford both led the side on the pitch and grabbed the captaincy by the horns deserves its flowers.
One thing that puts him above the rest is the way he takes the ball to the line and fires out an inch-perfect pass into that space he’s created seems to match the style Blackett wanted to play this summer, and now, with the Bath attack coach potentially joining Borthwick’s staff long-term with Wigglesworth shifting to defence, it could see him thrust back into the starting line-up.
While he might sit top at the minute, it will likely be a duel between him and F. Smith for the starting shirt come November.
Test bench: Fin Smith
The Northampton Saints man is currently the de facto ‘second-choice’ number 10 within this depth chart, but he will certainly look to retake his shirt come the autumn. Upon taking the starting role in the Six Nations, F. Smith marshalled the attack superbly well and got this new-look England side purring.
His style of play is slightly different to Ford in that he likes to sit a little bit deeper in the pocket, often just outside the traditional first-receiver channel, but that makes him no less of an attacking threat. Smith is very much a conductor on the pitch, manoeuvring his backline into spaces to break through the line, and that seemed to unlock England’s attacking potential towards the backend of the Six Nations campaign.
Should the rumoured appointment of Blackett happen, it would be very interesting to see him within that system.
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In the squad: Owen Farrell, Marcus Smith
Around them, the two versatile options, Farrell and M. Smith, will almost certainly be included in the wider squad for the autumn, and will likely push for a spot somewhere in the 23.
Farrell made a strong return to the Test stage with the Lions this summer, usurping M. Smith into the side, and already boasts serious Test-match pedigree across his career. Around that, his ability to play 10, 12 and even 13 if absolutely needed makes him a great option to carry within England’s new 6:2 bench. If you’re looking at the wider squad, Farrell does probably sit above F. Smith in making it into the 23 because of that.
M. Smith is also a quality player in his own right, but seems to be viewed as that versatile 10/15, which will annoy him. That again came to light for the Lions, with him barely tasting any gametime at fly-half. But, in saying that, it also makes him a strong candidate to wear the number 23 shirt for England. He is also much more of a direct running threat than the others on this list.
Waiting for a phone call: Charlie Atkinson
Sitting outside of the current squad is Charlie Atkinson, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The 23-year-old is incredibly new to the Test scene, given that he only made his debut this summer against the USA, and he will be in line for more caps along the way, but the key for him right now is to just continue his development. He is certainly one to watch moving forward, though.
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