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Wales rival claims Marcus Smith has fallen down England pecking order
By Ian Cameron
Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar says he believes that England's Marcus Smith has fallen behind Owen Farrell and George Ford in Steve Borthwick's selection pecking order.
Wales continue their training camp preparations in Switzerland ahead of the Rugby World Cup in September. Warren Gatland's side are gearing up to face England in two consecutive warm-up games this August. The upcoming clashes present an opportunity for both teams to fine-tune their strategies and trim down their squads ahead of the global tournament.
Biggar's comments about Smith certainly add intrigue to the games, as he knows the young Harlequins star is seeking to stake a claim for the starting ten jersey in a highly competitive England squad. Biggar, however, believes that Borthwick will revert to some version of the tried and tested pairing of Farrell and Ford.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, Biggar states: "The beauty of these warm-up games is you never really know what to expect. We don't know what England has been up to over the last four weeks. Maybe they'll have a few surprises up their sleeve. It was a bit of a shock to see Sam Underhill get released because he's as good as anyone on his day. They have so much talent.
"I suspect there will be a big Leicester-Saracens feel to their team, guys Steve Borthwick trust to play that territory game. Owen Farrell's captain so he'll be somewhere in the team but does George Ford come back in at No 10? Ford was extremely successful under Borthwick at Leicester and he won't have forgotten that.
"Marcus Smith is a hell of a player but it looks to me like Farrell and Ford are ahead of him in Borthwick's game plan."
Both England and Wales go into the tournament under the radar, with little expectations around their fortunes after torrid Guinness Six Nations campaigns for both sides.
Wales are currently in the process of whittling down their current 48-man squad down to 33 for the World Cup, with their opening game against Fiji in Bordeaux on September 10.
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The FFR doesn't pay for the contracts though, so ultimately they aren't really in fiscal control.
Go to commentsIndeed there is a season issue! It's not my preferred model and I too see it unlikely in that form, but it's the easiest thing to use to give people a good picture of what it could be like. The USA angle obviously a double whammy.
It would be great if the islands could get funding to build a nice 10k+ seater stadium, plus more on the benches etc. I just feel Super is the best way to get those other nations up to speed for inclusion into RC faster. Maybe if all of Fiji's talent had to play locally theyd be quality rivals?
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Remember, a late game start in the US is a nice afternoon start to the footy window in NZ and Aus!
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