Farrell and Smith lock horns as No.10 rivalry moves from country to club

25 March 2023 , 10:37

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England's fly-half duo go head-to-head in front of more than 50,000 fans at the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium (Image: Getty Images)

Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith lock horns today as England’s top players go straight from the Six Nations to Premiership duty.

Ireland’s Grand Slam winners have spent the week on the sauce and are now excused of club duty to freshen up ahead of the Champions Cup next weekend.

There's no such luxury in England where cash-strapped clubs, rather than the governing body, pay the bills and require their returning stars to fill the stadia.

So it is that a 50,000-plus crowd will descend on the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon to witness the clash of Steve Borthwick’s two fly-halves.

For seven weeks Farrell and Smith have battled it out for the England No.10 jersey - the former dropped in favour of the latter against France, the roles reversed against Ireland.

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The stakes are less individual in north London but still season-defining as a Saracens win would give them a home semi-final and erase Quins from the play-off picture.

Add the fact that these two clubs really do not like each other and it has the makings of quite an occasion. Not for nothing is the fixture dubbed The Showdown.

Owen Farrell works an opening for Saracens against Edinburgh in their December meeting (Patrick Khachfe/JMP/REX/Shutterstock)

Marcus Smith in Harlequins action against Exeter earlier this season (PA)

“This is always one of the best days in the calendar,” said Farrell, who captains both club and country. “We cannot wait.”

Over in the away changing room Quins are equally pumped up for a game they dare not lose.

“It’s the rivalries in sport that take teams to other levels,” said boss Tabai Matson. “We’re both London clubs, we play contrasting styles and there’s obviously players competing for international positions.”

Last season these two contested a Premiership semi-final as rich in pre-match trash talk as it was in on-field quality.

Jamie George celebrates Saracens' fifth try against Quins in last season's Premiership semi-final (Getty Images)

“It’s a proper rivalry,” said Saracens’ England hooker Jamie George. “I’d say there’s close to hatred there.”

Not only did Quins lock Hugh Tizard finish that afternoon on the losing side, he then had the temerity to switch clubs, swapping Twickenham Stoop for the StoneX.

“My close mates at Quins have been texting me for a few weeks now saying ‘are you ready to get smashed?’” he said yesterday.

“For both clubs this is the biggest game of the season. There’s definitely a rivalry. A very real one. But rugby needs stuff like that at the moment.”

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Farrell tackled by England team-mate Alex Dombrandt when Saracens and Quins met at the Stoop on the opening weekend of the season (Robbie Stephenson/JMP/REX/Shutterstock)

Tizard, 22, is spot on with his assessment and it is a shame not more, in a club game crying out for greater exposure, seem to recognise it.

At the home of England football’s number 10 and now record goal scorer, Farrell versus Smith is a duel likely to catch even Harry Kane’s attention.

A broader concern is what state England’s top players are in a week from now to contest the Champions Cup knockout stages.

Alex Spink