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Borthwick, Farrell react to much-changed England XV to take on Chile
By Liam Heagney
Steve Borthwick has described himself as tremendously excited to name an England team to take on Chile with Owen Farrell reinstated as skipper following his recent four-match ban, adding that the inclusion of Marcus Smith at full-back is a sign of a really healthy squad.
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Fresh from chalking up their second Pool D success with a 34-12 win over Japan in the humidity of Nice last Sunday, England arrived into a rainy Lille on Thursday evening having unveiled an XV showing a dozen changes.
Only Elliot Daly, Kyle Sinckler and Lewis Ludlam have been retained in the starting team, with Daly switching from left wing to centre and Ludlam moving to blindside from No8.
The wholesale alterations mean that all seven players in the 33-strong squad who weren’t selected against either Argentina or the Japanese will now get a maiden run at France 2023 – Henry Arundell, Max Malins, Farrell, Bevan Rodd, David Ribbans and Jack Willis as starters with Jack Walker included on the bench.
Asked about the return of Farrell to the fold following the expiry of the four-game ban he picked up his August 12 Summer Nations Series red card against Wales, Borthwick said: “We are all tremendously excited to see our captain on the grass on Saturday.
“He has been an incredible leader for this team despite being unable to play the first two games of the World Cup. He has been a fantastic influence in harnessing the leadership across the whole squad. He has been a role model on and off the field. I am looking forward to seeing him leading this team out on Saturday.”
As for out-half Smith securing a first start at full-back, the head coach added: “He has made three appearances for us off the bench at 15 and in each of those he has done really well.
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“You see an exciting, talented player who finds space and as you look at this, what a group of talent we have in the squad. I’m pleased with how the squad is building into this tournament, pleased with how the squad have progressed and I am looking forward to the game on Saturday.”
Borthwick added that he sees lots of similarities between Smith and regular full-back Freddie Steward, who sits out the match against Chile. “In many ways there are a lot of similarities in the position in what we see is two players who are really committed to developing and taking this team forward; we see two players on the training field who every single day are trying to get better.
“I watch these guys train and before sessions, after sessions, helping each other get to get better. That is a sign of a really healthy squad. As you look at the squad this weekend, you see a team that is packed full of talent, that has pace and I have been saying this for several weeks now, this is a good squad packed full of player who play smart rugby and find a way to win games and that is my expectation on Saturday.
“In terms of Chile what we see is an incredibly committed team. They have players with pace and when they get the ball and move it they try and keep that ball alive. There pose danger in that sense…
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“From our point of view we want to continue to build our game. You have seen progression over this period of time. I’m pleased with the way the team is building into this tournament and I’m looking forward to this next step.”
With Courtney Lawes, the skipper in the wins of Argentina and Japan, now rested, Farrell comes in at No10 as the captain. “Massively excited,” he declared. “I have been looking forward to getting to the World Cup and it has been tough not playing but it has been great to see what the lads have done and I can’t wait to be a part of that.”
On the prospect of linking with Smith as the full-back and not in the previous 10/12 partnership where Smith was at out-half and Farrell outside him at inside centre, the captain added: “Marcus is a fantastic player. Everyone knows what a talent he is. Hopefully we can link up, hopefully we can find space together, hopefully we can get each other involved in the game. There will be many different ways of doing that.
“It’s been brilliant,” he added about seeing George Ford take command of the No10 shirt in the opening two rounds with official man-of-the-match performances.
“The team has done unbelievably well the last few weeks and to get the two results has been fantastic. George has been playing brilliantly. It has been brilliant to watch and I’m excited to try and be involved.”
