11 February 2023 , 15:10
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Sir Clive Woodward has praised England coach Steve Borthwick for having the "courage" that Eddie Jones lacked and dropping Marcus Smith in favour of Owen Farrell at No 10.
Following his side's dramatic 29-23 defeat at home to Scotland last Saturday, Borthwick has made a big call ahead of another Twickenham clash on Sunday against Italy. With skipper Farrell shifting from his role at 12, Ollie Lawrence will partner Henry Slade in a new-look centre partnership, with Joe Marchant not in the 23.
The debate as to whether the often mercurial Smith and Farrell should be in the same team has raged ever since the young Harlequins star burst onto the international stage in 2021. Jones, who was sacked in December, opted to deploy both in a 10-12 axis, a ploy Woodward has now savaged.
"Well done Steve Borthwick," he wrote, in his regular column. "The England head coach showed on Friday the courage his predecessor Eddie Jones didn't by making a big call at fly-half between Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith."
Woodward, who has made no secret of his disdain for the job done by Jones long prior to his removal by the RFU, said the decision was "absolutely the right one" and argued Borthwick should be applauded: "At the end of his tenure, Jones seemed wedded to a 10-12 partnership of Smith and Farrell despite it clearly not working," he continued.
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"Borthwick has drawn a line in the sand by opting for Farrell. I can pay him no higher compliment than to say that's exactly what I would have done. It's his best position and I hope he has a stormer against Italy to show everyone just how good he can be as a chief playmaker."
Sir Clive Woodward has taken multiple shots at Eddie Jones since his sacking (PA)In the immediate aftermath of England's opening Six Nations defeat, Woodward bemoaned a "fear factor" that he claimed was plaguing the players. Again, this was a notion which he attributed to the coaching style of Jones, who caught everyone off guard last month by returning to his old role as head coach of Australia.
"There is still a fear factor in the England players, a legacy of the Eddie Jones era that will take time for Borthwick to eradicate," said Woodward, who famously led the Red Roses to a World Cup and Grand Slam double in 2003. "England were programmed under Jones to minimise risk in their own half."
Other changes see Jack Willis replace Ben Curry in the back row, with London Irish wing Henry Arundell named among the replacements. England have not lost to Italy since The Azzurri entered the Six Nations in 2000.