With a 31-man roster available for the 2019 World Cup, head coach Eddie Jones initially selected two scrum-halves, calling up Ben Spencer for the championship game as a replacement due to injury. Owen Farrell and George Ford served as his fly-halves.
In the current Borthwick training squad, Care and the scrum halves Ben Youngs and Jack van Poortvliet of the Leicester Tigers are the fly halves, while Farrell, Ford, and Smith are the scrum halves.
All six are probably going to go since World Rugby increased the team size for the 2023 competition.
Given that I kept three scrum halves and three fly halves in the camp, I believe it is quite obvious, he added.
The head coach emphasized the importance of players who can play numerous positions and emphasized how “incredibly valuable” position flexibility is.
“There is a need to be able to adapt,” he continued. We have kept our squad very compact between each of our camps in terms of the number of players we have had in camp. We will have to do that during this tournament.
“I am well aware that players besides the 33 who will be announced on Monday will need to be prepared to be the next guy in. This team has developed a sense of cohesion, physical fitness, and role clarity that allows anyone to fit into the 33.
Fly-half Smith will make his England debut on Saturday for the first time since their historic Six Nations home loss to France.The Harlequin does not, however, linger on that match or how he lost the following week’s starting job to Farrell of the Saracens.
The 24-year-old stated, “It was a horrible day to be a part of, and I have learnt a lot of lessons from it. It has unquestionably improved both my position as a person and as a player on the field.
Fly-half for Sale Sharks Ford, who was injured and missed the Six Nations, was brought into camp to assist with the France game preparations. He is scheduled to make his first England Test appearance since March 2022 on Saturday.
Smith has appreciated Borthwick’s candor in outlining “the pecking order” as competition from Farrell and Ford grows, but he does not take it for granted that he will make the World Cup roster.”Monday is a big day, but there are still a few days to go,” he remarked. “I’m looking forward to Friday’s team run and the following weekend. I am grateful to be able to play for England once more because Cardiff is a special site to play.
To be honest, he said, “It would be pretty bizarre.” “I haven’t really given it much thought. I don’t know how I feel right now, but I’m hoping Monday will be better. It would mean a lot to me personally as well as to my parents, two younger brothers, and other family members who have made significant sacrifices for my upbringing.
Following their match against Wales on Saturday, England will play three more exhibition games before their World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9 in Marseille.
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