England drops captain Farrell and brings back Smith
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England drops captain Farrell and brings back Smith
LONDON (AP) — England captain Owen Farrell was dropped and Marcus Smith returned as the starting flyhalf in the side facing France in the Six Nations on Saturday at Twickenham.
Farrell was in the reserves and prop Ellis Genge given the captaincy for the first time.
Smith’s recall marked the only change to the team which beat Wales 20-10 in Cardiff two weeks ago.
Farrell was joined in the reserves by Northampton lock David Ribbans, who was in for the injured Courtney Lawes.
England and France have lost only once and are trying to stay in title contention behind unbeaten Ireland.
With Lawes frequently sidelined by injuries, Farrell remained captain when coach Steve Borthwick replaced the fired Eddie Jones in December. Borthwick called Farrell special.
Borthwick retained the Smith-Farrell axis at 10-12 for his first match in charge a month ago, the home loss to Scotland. But for the next two tests, wins against Italy and Wales, he reverted to Farrell at flyhalf.
Smith played only nine minutes off the bench and was released to appear for his Harlequins club last weekend. Harlequins routed Exeter 40-5 and coach Tabai Matson said Smith could do no more to regain the England 10 jersey.
Borthwick said before the tournament he wanted only form players, but Farrell, one of only three men to play 100 tests for England, hasn’t been one of them. Following a three-week suspension, his general play has been mediocre and he’s been goalkicking at 47%.
France summoned Toulouse prop Dorian Aldegheri after two years out to try and fix its tighthead issues.
Flanker Francois Cros also starts in an injury-enforced change, and La Rochelle center Jonathan Danty has recovered from a knee injury to make his first test appearance of the year.
Aldegheri is France’s third starting tighthead in three tests. Uini Atonio was suspended after a high tackle against Ireland in round two, though he could be available to face Wales in the last round next weekend. Mohamed Haouas was also suspended for a high tackle against Scotland in round three and will miss the rest of the tournament.
Bordeaux tighthead Sipili Falatea, who has come off the bench in all three Six Nations matches, remained in the reserves.
“Dorian Aldegheri plays for Stade Toulousain, a big club that dominates French rugby,” France coach Fabien Galthié said on Thursday. “Dorian is becoming No. 1 at his position.”
Galthié added that Aldegheri’s relationship with loosehead prop Cyril Baille and hooker Julien Marchand — his teammates in Toulouse — also factored in his decision.
“They grew up together. It’s strong between them,” he said. “Dorian has reached a hell of a level, it brings guarantees.”
Cros replaced Anthony Jelonch, who underwent left knee surgery on Monday after tearing his ACL against Scotland. Jelonch is in a race to be fit for the Rugby World Cup in five months.
Danty’s return moved Yoram Moefana to the reserves.
France and England are five points behind unbeaten Ireland. France beat England last year on its way to the Grand Slam but has not prevailed at Twickenham in the Six Nations since 2005. England will name its team later Thursday.
