Will Greenwood: Where England were ‘dumb’ and ‘badly exposed’ as Steve Borthwick’s call ‘reaped zero reward’
England replacements Henry Pollock and Fin Smith with an inset of Will Greenwood.
England legend Will Greenwood believes that Steve Borthwick made a ‘costly’ error by selecting Fin Smith over Marcus Smith for the Six Nations clash against Scotland at Murrayfield.
Scotland marched to an impressive 31-20 victory in the Scottish capital, emphatically ending England’s 12-Test winning streak.
Tries from Huw Jones, Jamie Ritchie and Ben White helped the hosts into a 24-10 lead at half-time, with Henry Arundell scoring England’s first try in between his yellow cards and subsequent 20-minute red.
Jones rubbed salt into England’s wounds as he grabbed his second try, fully capitalising on the opportunity created after George Ford’s drop goal attempt was charged down. That put Scotland in a commanding position as England trailed by 18 points.
6-2 split is always dangerous
During England’s winning streak, the role of the POM Squad and a 6-2 split in favour of the forwards was prominent, but Greenwood believes that it played a major role in their demise, particularly with the selection of one of the two backs.
The World Cup-winning midfielder believes that Borthwick selected the wrong Smith on the bench and paid the price for doing so.
“A six-two bench split is always dangerous no matter who you pick, but without a bona fide utility back? Even riskier,” Greenwood wrote in the Telegraph.
“I would have had Marcus over Fin in the number 23 shirt, and I said it before the game. That said, I do think that Fin is England’s second best fly-half behind Ford so I understand Borthwick’s predicament but I think picking Fin over Marcus cost England dearly.”
The 53-year-old understands the reasoning behind selecting a forward-heavy bench but adds that Arundell’s two sin-binning periods and replacement left England with players playing out of position.
“I do not necessarily disagree with the six-two bench, but it can leave you awfully exposed – and England were,” Greenwood continued.
“Henry Arundell’s two yellow cards were justified but his time on the sidelines left England in the midst of a rejig, with players out of position, while chasing the game.
“Three players needed changing and there was just not enough cover.
“When you are 20 points up, Fin Smith comes on and kicks a few goals, it works well and everyone lauds it but that is not always the reality. When it all went to hell in a handcart, England were badly exposed to trouble.”
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Where England were dumb
He insists that the blame lies with Borthwick and his coaching staff and not the players as too many backline positions needed to be rejigged and fresh legs as the game progressed and England didn’t have the numbers.
After Arundell’s second sin-binning period elapsed, Fin Smith joined the action and was deployed at inside centre and instead of adjusting to the strengths of the backs on the pitch, he was tasked with performing a role foreign to a fly-half.
“The risk-reward debate will rage on over the next 12 months, but the reality is that it was very risky and, at Murrayfield, England reaped zero reward. The Pom Squad approach of the autumn was entirely neutralised by Arundell’s departure, because so many areas required either rejigging or an injection of fresh legs,” Greenwood explained.
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“But, even with the six-two split, England were dumb with it. Towards the end of the second half, with Fin Smith at 12, off first phase, he crashes into the Scottish midfield and is easily turned over. He is a fly-half. Why not, for that play, send Tommy Freeman on that line, even though he is playing on the wing? That is what a clever side would do.”
He added: “England do not get a long time to train together, that is true. It is all about high intensity for short periods of time. That back-division with Fin Smith at 12 and Freeman on the wing will only have had a small number of minutes in training. Of course it can work, but those are the risks you take. And Murrayfield on Saturday is what happens when it goes wrong.”
