Reports suggest Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith will play together in England’s Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham.
Steve Borthwick’s midfield stocks are already depleted with the withdrawal of Dan Kelly, Elliot Daly and Henry Slade.
RUCK understands Smith and Farrell are now expected to start as the 10-12 duo in Borthwick’s first match as head coach, with the pair training together today,
England have been careful not to rule out selecting Smith and Farrell together
“There’s no reason why they can’t play together,” attack coach Nick Evans said.
“But you have to be very clear about what you are trying to achieve, how you are doing this, what the detail looks like. Once everyone is clear on that then you can go through with it.
“Some of the feedback was that maybe that [clarity] wasn’t there, so maybe there was a bit of a crossover. It’s just about making sure that you’re very clear on roles and responsibilities.
“Sometimes the old death by detail can be a thing. The over-complicating of things. As coaches, we don’t get much time with the players.
“We’ve got a week with them and then we’re playing Scotland in the first game, so the information needs to be really clear and direct. The players need to go onto the field and have a really clear understanding of how we want to play.”
Jamie George is set to be good to return to the team, while Jack Willis is expected to start in the back-row alongside Ben Earl and Alex Dombrandt.
Expected England XV: Steward, Watson, Tuilagi, Farrell, Hassell-Collins, Smith, Youngs; Genge, George, Cole, Itoje Lawes, Earl, Willis, Dombrandt
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Austin Healey selects his England XV for Six Nations opener, fans hate it
Former internationals Austin Healey and Nick Easter combined on BT Sport to select their England XV for their Six Nations opener against Scotland on Saturday.
Tasked with picking the England XV for the opener at Twickenham, Easter was in charge of picking the pack while Healey selected the backline.
Reacting to the team, one fan wrote: “Glad they aren’t selecting,”
Another said: “Woah. Really not much flair or invention there…”
“Hope not. Not interested in another day of box-kicking,” a third commented.
Nick Easter/Austin Healey England XV
FRONT-ROW:
Loosehead-prop: Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Hooker: Jack Walker (Harlequins)
Tighthead-prop: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
SECOND-ROW:
Lock: Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Lock: Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs)
