England v France 6N
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Early start to this one and not much detail but apparently Marcus Smith is out of the training squad and George Ford is in.
I'm not sure how I feel about that given Ford has had very limited game time since a long injury lay off.
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@Catogrande he's been the best 10 around premiership for a while, his distribution and vision is great. No idea why Eddie didn't like him, and he suits England better than Smith. I'd have him over our tens in an instant
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The 10 must be compatible with the style and Smith was the shiny new thing that didn't really match the England way of play.
He's a good player and is still learning but I can see why he isnt the right fit for England right now. A team that needs to concentrate on the basics. -
Whilst I don’t disagree entirely, I would point out that he hasn’t been the best Premiership 10 for the las 6 months as he’s bern out injured. There’s a lot I like about Ford but I’m not so sure about this decision at this point in time.
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I’m not sure your point is correct, though I can se a rationale for thinking that way. Smith has not been great for England since the summer BUT firstly he seems to be stifled with Farrell outside him, secondly he’s not been given a chance with Lawrence at 12 as a serious bale-out option (like he has at Quins with Esterhuizen) and thirdly, if England are going back to kick and chase basics, what the hell is Evans there for?
I’m actually quite a Farrell fan and feel he’s a lot better than many rate but he has been playing poorly for England last Autumn and this 6N but Borthwick has painted himself into a corner by naming him captain. Similarly to Lancaster - how did that work out again?
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Smith would go great guns in super rugby. The match up between him and Mounga would be good to watch...
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@Bones said in England v France 6N:
Smith would go great guns in super rugby. The match up between him and Mounga would be good to watch...
He just seems the odd one out in the England side. But I concede that I don’t watch them as closely as our teams to jump to that conclusion.
Agree that a spell on this side of the world would be good for him. I don’t mean that in an arrogant way just think his natural game would grow even more.
If he was a kiwi I definitely think he’d have a fair few supporters.
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@Crucial IMO he's just almost a clone of Mounga - give him a couple of years and he'll be as good as Mounga.
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@Crucial said in England v France 6N:
If he was a kiwi I definitely think he’d have a fair few supporters.
New Zealand doesn't have a shortage of highlight reel fans.
