by Marcus Smith has already been here. This is the week that France arrives at Twickenham and the Harlequins playmaker is the subject of a huge selection call. In 2023, it was his promotion on the departure side at the expense of Owen Farrell; In 2025, it was its passage to the rear to accommodate the first international departure of the end Smith in half the fly.
It was Kevin Sinfield who suggested for the first time to explore the attack potential that the move from backwards could create. During the 2023 World Cup, England seeking to find ways to maximize its offensive options in the middle of the development of a game plan led by kicks, the legend of the Rugby League and the coach Defense then convinced Steve Barthwick to try. Three departures at the post, notably in the quarter -final against the Fiji, won three victories.
The circumstances are clearly different here. The need was not necessarily the initial mother of this invention, but with England on a series of seven consecutive defeats against the non -Japanese opposition, Barthwick estimated that a upheaval is necessary for the powerful challenge that awaits them on Saturday . There is a certain irony in the fact that Marcus Smith was among the most coherent artists of England at that time, but doubts remain as to his capacity to the best structure and to set up a background line; Two forces of his young homonym. Deploying them together, according to Barthwick, could come out the best of both.
“It’s an exciting partnership,” said head coach. “You have two ball players there, you have players who both see space, both on the front line and in the rear field. I am delighted to see how they go together.
During the Super Bowl week, American football coach John Madden Dicton that if you have two quarters, you have no one in mind. But the primacy of the playmaker seems to become less and less important in international rugby. Look, for example, at the first four sides of the world. South Africa has stolen between Sacha Feinberg -Mngomezulu, Mania Libbok and Handre Pollard in the past 12 months – If Pollard remains their dead eyes, the greatest gifts of its young teammates have clearly played in the development of Springboks.
Ireland, on the other hand, balances the requests of the present and the future as Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley Life. The appropriate arrival of the Munsterman of the bench helped them during the line last weekend, but the role of control of Prendergast may have been underestimated. New Zealand exchanged and changed between Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett in 2024 in the midst of attempts to recover Richie Mo’unga from his lucrative and quiet life in Japan.
Even France, where Romain Ntamack would generally have a relatively safe socket on the starting shirt, would have used both Matthieu Jalibert and Thomas Ramos in the position during Ntamack injury misfortunes or, as is the case this weekend- End, disciplinary struggles. The presence of Ramos at 15 also shows the tactical importance in development of having a second playmaker back. If it was once the creative axis 10/12 which was in vogue, more and more in international rugby, the trend was to have a second distributor in the rear field, whether Hugo Keenan, Blair Kinghorn or Willie Le Roux.
It is not a slight steward of Freddie to say that he is not currently this player; The back of Leicester has many other forces that offer significant value. But not, perhaps, as much in a game like this-unlike other teams that are regularly embarking on, France prefers to group it with a well-trained pursuit. In the absence of George Furbank, Barthwick thinks that Marcus Smith is the man to trigger his side at the counterattack, as he did in the construction of Cadan Murley’s test in Dublin last week.
The head coach will remember last year’s thriller in Lyon, when the injury of the eighth minute of Furbank forced the Harlequin at the first 15. The best attack on England in recent memory has followed.
The difference, of course, was that it was a 95 plans George Ford as a pilot then; End Smith has no accumulated tests of the veteran. But there is confidence in a 22 -year -old that England is able to thrive on the biggest scene. A short senior career has already included a solid performance in a successful final performance of Premières and with roles in Wins Over Munster in Limerick and the Bulls in Pretoria.
“You could talk a lot about the excellent end distribution skills,” said Barthwick. “Her kick game is really very, very precise. Earlier this season, we had ended 30 in a match for Northampton. It tells you about the personality – it is hard, it is courageous. When players see half a volume to defend like that, they have immense respect for him. »»
France is a better team than that aligned at the end of last year’s tournament, helped, of course, by the return of Antoine Dupont Magistral. Their defense of Shaun Edwards treated Wales their first Nilm in competition since 1998, although the attack by visitors (supervised by Rob Howley) was extremely simplistic and lateral in Paris. England is convinced that they can cause more problems.
The interest of the Stade de France was the use of Dupont in Canal 13 as an aggressive blitzer on the edge of the Edwards system. With a gael of defensive singing Gael absent due to an injury, Dupont has wreaked havoc in a new role – forcing Nick Tompkins to drop the cold by a well -timed overvoltage to cut the corner, then making an excellent reading for Close Dan Edwards.
It is strange to target someone so good, but if France returns to tactics against England, search for Marcus Smith to try to go outside of Dupont as a second receiver behind the end Smith and a front carrier clove.
The other key selection call from Barthwick comes in the rear row, where Tom Willis joins Tom Curry and Ben Earl. The Saracens No. 8 add an essential ballast and may be a best used growth player in the games from the start rather than on the bench, much like his predecessor for the club and the country, Billy Vunipola.
Its inclusion adds a little additional height to alignment, but England remains with a single real specialized option in Maro Itoje. After having moved away from their Mutailing game in the past 12 months, they have been forced to use a certain number of shortcut and fast launches against Ireland, preventing the very structured attack, and could again Seek to play at high speed on Saturday. Four of the five French attackers are real riders – there is a clear contrast in the strategy. Barthwick’s daring calls may have to work to avoid the six -nations disaster.
England XV to face France (4:45 p.m. GMT, Saturday February 8): 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Will Stuart; 4 Maro Itoje (Captain), 5 George Martin; 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Tom Willis; 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 end Smith; 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 12 Henry Slade, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 14 Tommy Freeman; 15 Marcus Smith
Replacement:: 16 Jamie George, 17 end Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry; 22 Harry Randall, 23 Elliot Daly.
France XV: 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 3 Uini Atonio; 4 Alexandre Roumat, 5 Emmanuel Meafou; 6 François Cros, 7 Paul Boudehent, 8 Gregory Alldritt; 9 Antoine Dupont (Captain), 10 Matthieu Jalibert; 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 12 Yoram Moefana, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 14 Damian Penaud; 15 Thomas Ramos.
Substitutes: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Mickael Guillard, 21 Oscar Jegou; 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Emien Gailleton.
