England predicted team v Wales: Steve Borthwick to ‘reward’ Marcus Smith with start while Premiership flier handed ‘deserved’ debut in ‘banana skin’ Test
From left to right: Steve Borthwick, Marcus Smith and Oscar Beard
England head into ‘Super Saturday’ dreaming of their first title since 2020, but they have a tough challenge on their hands in the form of a resurgent Wales at the Principality Stadium.?
Steve Borthwick’s side, who have won their past three Six Nations Tests, still venture down the M4 as heavy favourites; but Wales are an entirely different entity to the one that started the Championship. Since Matt Sherratt took the reins from Warren Gatland, Wales seem incredibly refreshed and are now playing brave attacking rugby as a result.
On top of this, it’s all building up to the perfect crescendo of the 16-Test losing run coming to an end against the old enemy, so England will need to be on their A-game to avoid this potential banana skin.
Without further ado, here is our take on how England could line up this weekend.
15 Marcus Smith
His omission from the starting XV was the big talking point last weekend, but his exploits against Italy should see him put back into it this Saturday. Marcus Smith again managed to exploit those different spaces on the field he can find in this new position, but this time around his injections into the attack felt completely organic and happened at exactly the right time to make an impact rather than forcing himself into the play. The high ball remains a problem, with the Italian kicks causing him some real issues early on, but otherwise a really solid showing and he should be rewarded for it.
14 Tommy Freeman
There could be a temptation to put him in the number 13 jumper this weekend, but with him and (spoiler alert) Elliot Daly likely to swap in and out once again it doesn’t really matter what number is on his back. Tommy Freeman was once again superb in his side’s win over Italy, but it seemed to be?the?game to show just what he can do at Test level. He consistently popped up in different holes across the pitch, swapping with Daly to act as a 13 on multiple occasions, but when he held his width as a winger he was just as effective. Freeman has also shown his ruthless finishing edge this Championship too, so Borthwick will be hoping for more of the same.
13 Elliot Daly
With Ollie Lawrence unfortunately out of contention for the foreseeable, Daly will likely jump into the vacant 13 shirt; but as mentioned above he won’t be a traditional outside centre. He and Freeman managed to find a really nice balance of swapping in and out of this position depending on how Fin Smith wanted to play against Italy, which in turn brought the best out of England’s attack. Daly also brings huge experience to the side, which could be crucial for a Test like this.
12 Fraser Dingwall
After sitting on the sidelines for so long, Fraser Dingwall certainly took his chance against Italy and should remain in post this weekend as a result. His telepathic connection with Fin Smith really helped get England’s attack firing early on, but he also added his own neat flourishes as well. A really nice part of his game was how he stepped up to first receiver, which in turn allowed the Smiths to sit a bit deeper and therefore get the attack playing a bit deeper too. Everything just seemed to click into gear with Dingwall on the pitch.
11 Ollie Sleightholme
Back to his best against the Azzurri and he should again keep his place against Wales. His unique blend of speed and power made him such a threat in the wide channels, but he also again demonstrated his poacher ability with a tidy brace. This was such a welcome performance from the Northampton ace, who had struggled to put his best foot forward this Championship, and it was a timely reminder of what he can bring to this England side.
10 Fin Smith
This is a big game for Fin Smith, as it could be the one that pushes him into Andy Farrell’s Lions team come the summer. In all three of his starts this Championship, Fin Smith has demonstrated different styles of play, and crucially he’s been excellent at them all. Against Italy, his general ability to pull the strings of the attack and make things happen around him came to the fore, which is yet again a really important skill for a Test fly-half to have and it’s something Farrell is a big fan of as well, given how Johnny Sexton did exactly this for years in the green jersey under him. If he continues his upwards trajectory, he will surely be in Farrell’s mind.
9 Alex Mitchell
The fifth and final Saint in the starting backline will be Alex Mitchell, after his impressive showing last time out. Mitchell’s desire to play quickly really gave England some nice fizz on Sunday, combining his sniping ability and pinpoint distribution perfectly to get their attack purring. This is the exact way Mitchell needs to be used by Borthwick, rather than the kicking for kicking sake method against Scotland, and if he is given this freedom again should have a good time at the Principality.
8 Tom Willis
Yet again showed his value to the England team against Italy, and should start once more this weekend. His desire to carry the ball through traffic is absolutely massive for England, who have been crying out for someone like him, but it then also allows the rest of the back-row to have their flashes in broken field too and that has really taken the pack up another gear. Willis was described as ‘hungry’ by Borthwick prior to the Six Nations kicking off, and that is the perfect way to sum him up.
7 Ben Earl
As mentioned above, with Willis taking a lot of the load in the tight Ben Earl has been given the freedom to charge about in broken field and it’s taken him back to that form from the World Cup. Earl just seems incredibly refreshed this Six Nations and has given his Lions chances a major boost as a result. We also got to see another glimpse of him at 12 too, and with the popularity of the 7/1 bench split right now that experience could be valuable.
6 Tom Curry
Borthwick confirmed the knock picked up against Italy is nothing serious, meaning Tom Curry should retain his spot in this back-row. Typically, the Sale forward was a real nuisance against Italy with his work in the breakdown and around the park neutralising the likes of Michele Lamaro, but he faces the unenviable task of trying to keep Jac Morgan quiet this weekend. This is also a big Test for him too, with Morgan currently nailed on for that Lions back-row.
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5 Ollie Chessum
Has done a brilliant job since returning to the starting XV, and will likely be just as effective against Wales. The lineout could be a real area for England to target this weekend, given Wales’ lack of consistency in this area so far, but on top of this Chessum is the perfect counterpart to go against fellow workhorse Dafydd Jenkins too.
4 Maro Itoje
We don’t even need to explain why Maro Itoje will start this weekend. He has just been exceptional this Six Nations and it seems the captaincy has taken his game to levels we didn’t think possible.
3 Will Stuart
You’d imagine, after the Six Nations he’s had, that Will Stuart is buzzing with confidence heading into this Wales Test. Whilst he didn’t hit too many scrums during his shift, Stuart’s attacking skills were on full display as he danced his way around Italian defenders and produced some deft offloads to boot. But, the scrum is a prop’s bread-and-butter, and he will need to be at his very best to keep Nicky Smith under wraps in that department.
2 Jamie George
Showed exactly why he is regarded as one of England’s greatest-ever players last weekend, and should keep his place in the starting team again this weekend. As mentioned above, the lineout could be a key area for England this weekend, and with George still positing 100% success rate there’s no reason to put him back onto the bench. His leadership will also be pivotal heading into the cauldron that is the Principality.
1 Ellis Genge
Rounding off the starting XV is Ellis Genge. Again, he didn’t get the chance to scrum as much as he would have liked against Italy, but with WillGriff John likely to retain his starting shirt for Wales, Genge will need to be back to the levels we’ve seen throughout this Championship.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ted Hill, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Oscar Beard
You’d imagine the bench will stay largely the same, but Harlequins ace Oscar Beard could be in for a deserved England debut. The versatile back, who can cover 12, 13 and wing, has impressed Borthwick since coming into camp and has been in great form for his club as well so it could be a great chance to test him out at this level.
Elsewhere, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Joe Heyes, Ted Hill, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Curry and Jack van Poortvliet should keep their spots.
