England coach decides Rugby World Cup scapegoat as Owen Farrell call made
England coach Steve Borthwick looks set to axe George Ford for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final clash against Fiji on Sunday.
Ford is England's leading points scorer at the tournament so far, having excelled at fly-half in the first two group games against Argentina and Japan with captain Owen Farrell suspended. Ford was then benched for England's 71-0 thrashing of Chile as Farrell returned, before the pair played together in a slender 18-17 win over Samoa with Ford at 10 and Farrell at 12.
However, that was not as effective as Borthwick had hoped, with Ford replaced after just 50 minutes by Marcus Smith who slotted in at full-back and allowed Farrell to move to 10. And according to the Daily Mail, Borthwick is set to name Farrell at 10 when England take on Fiji.
The report states that Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant are expected to start in midfield, with Ford dropped to the bench. Smith is also set to make just his second start of the tournament, with the 24-year-old expected to play at full-back alongside Elliot Daly and Jonny May.
And the decision to pick Farrell over Ford is a controversial one, with World Cup winner Matt Dawson claiming on the BBC's Rugby Union Daily podcast : "I can't believe anybody in the coaching staff thinks that Farrell is a better 10 than Ford now. I'd be amazed, astounded, if Farrell is at 10.
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"In the last quarter he put in some wayward passes and gave the ball back to Samoa when they were on the charge. He didn't have his head in the game about penalties and the shot clock. This is about a knockout game which is going to be a tough ask and you need the right people in the right shirts.
"Farrell will go down as one of the greats for England, but at the moment he's not at the levels of the other players at 10 or 12, and no matter how much you try to squeeze that square peg into a round hole it isn't going to go. I think there's a ripple effect around the team. The coaches have to have some very serious conversations.
George Ford is set to be dropped for England's Rugby World Cup quarter-final clash against Fiji (World Rugby via Getty Images)"They have to have hard conversations with Borthwick and say we're in the last-chance saloon and selection has to be spot on with no regrets and you've got to take ownership and responsibility for it." However, speaking ahead of the Fiji game, England's assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth backed Farrell to have a "massive impact".
"He's a winner," Wigglesworth said. "That term gets thrown around quite a bit, but that is Owen. He, under the harshest of pressures and biggest of moments, tends to get better. That is a sign of a winner. He doesn't just get better but has more of an impact on the people around him as well.
"We know what gets said about Owen. He's the highest ever points-scorer for England, delivers time and time again, and those players tend to catch the most flak for some reason. We've got one of the best to do it. We're lucky to have him. He will no doubt have a massive impact on this week and this game."
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