Sport Very little success against the poles since the start of the Tournament, Owen Farrell will not start against the 15th of France, Saturday.
6 NATIONS. England with Farrell on the bench to challenge the 15 of FranceArtilleryman of the XV de la Rose for years (1142 points scored), Owen Farrell has not had the same success since the start of this 2023 6 Nations Tournament. With a success rate of 46% against poles (7/15), the Saracens opener is far from his usual standards. What to push Steve Borthwick, coach of England, to put his captain on the bench! A strong choice from the former Leicester Tigers coach, who starts the youngster in his place Marcus Smith. First positioned in the center against Scotland, Farrell was then placed at the opening against Italy and Wales. Three encounters in which Andy’s son only scored 17 points. To compare, Thomas Ramos et Finn Russell (who have roughly the same playing time as English), scored 45 and 30 points respectively. This Saturday, the 31-year-old will therefore be a substitute against the Blues, a first with England since the 2019 World Cup.
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Second tied with Scotland and France, England are still in the running to win this 2023 Tournament. And yet, one cannot say that Ellis Genge’s teammates have been impressive since the start of the competition. Whether against Scotland or Wales, the English have, for the most part, sorely lacking in ideas offensively, and relied on a strong defense as well as a good occupation of the field. Beyond his foot statistics, we can therefore think that putting Owen Farrell on the bench is also a tactical choice. In effect, Marcus Smith (24) is a much more attacking profile than his selection partner. Witness his match against Racing 92 last January, where the Harlequins player walked on water. More discreet this year in terms of registered trials (3), let’s not forget, however, that Smith comes out of three seasons with more than 8 tries. What a reminder of all the talent with the ball in hand of the English nugget, that the French will have to watch like milk on the fire on Saturday in London. Before perhaps seeing Owen Farrell return to the lawn, he who will certainly be upset to have been benched for such an important game.
RUGBY. 6 Nations. The composition of the XV of France for the match against England: Danty holder, Jaminet on the bench
Former coach of the XV de la Rose, Sir Clive Woodward was quick to express itself in the columns of the Daily Mail, as to the non-establishment of Farrell against the Blues. For him, the situation is clear, priority must be given to Farrell: ”If you want to win the World Cup, Owen Farrell must be selected. If you want to win in 4 years, so you have to build a team around Smith”. It remains to be seen now if Borthwick made the right choice…
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