Borthwick’s bold selection gamble risks riling a seething Wales

Playing away to the old enemy Wales on the final day of the Six Nations with the Championship title on the line would not ordinarily be the ideal time for England to dabble in experimentation,

However, head coach Steve Borthwick enthusiastically embraced the idea with a slightly tweaked back row and a major reshuffle of the backline, and a statement amounting to not caring if the fixture was in Cardiff or Kathmandu.

“I think the context of who we’re playing against, or where we’re playing, is not the most important thing,” Borthwick said, boldly dismissing any fear factor for England of venturing into a seethingly hostile Principality Stadium.

“The most important thing is the attitude with which we approach the game and the way we play. I’m very clear – I want the team to play this week with bravery and speed on the ball. We want them to play big.

“This back row brings speed and athleticism, the bench gives us speed and athleticism and this backline we’ve got is an exciting one. If I’m an England supporter, I’m looking at this backline and thinking I’m looking forward to seeing these guys play this weekend.”

Whether the backline changes would ever have happened without the injuries to two first choices – full-back George Furbank before the Six Nations, and centre Ollie Lawrence in the win over Italy last Sunday – has to be a moot point.

England as they announced their team a day earlier than Wales have made a headline selection of Tommy Freeman starting at No 13, instead of his customary position on the wing, in a move pondered by Borthwick since Freeman’s club Northampton tried it for 10 matches last season.

The obvious alternatives were to pair Fraser Dingwall with Elliot Daly or a recalled Henry Slade. But Freeman is a stone heavier than Slade, and Borthwick gave a nod to this heft when he noted of the 24-year-old Saint: “With his athleticism that he has, the ground he covers and the power he brings in the carry, he has always been that option.”

England starting XV and replacements

15. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 43 caps)

14. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, 3 caps)

13. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 19 caps)

12. Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)

11. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 72 caps)

10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)

9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 22 caps)

1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 70 caps) – vice-captain

2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 48 caps)

3. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 49 caps)

4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 92 caps) – captain

5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 27 caps)

6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 60 caps)

7. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 10 caps)

8. Ben Earl (Saracens, 41 caps)

Replacements

16. Jamie George (Saracens, 100 caps) – vice-captain

17. Fin Baxter (Harlequins, 10 caps)

18. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 11 caps)

19. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, 14 caps)

20. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, uncapped)

21. Tom Willis (Saracens, 5 caps)

22. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 17 caps)

23. George Ford (Sale Sharks, 98 caps)

The knock-on effect of moving Freeman inside one place was to leave a berth filled on the England right wing by Sale’s rangy, aerially adept Tom Roebuck, while the utility expert Daly shifted from last weekend’s starting spot of full-back to left wing.

The free-scoring Ollie Sleightholme is dropped from the 22, and Marcus Smith returns to the starting line-up at No 15.

You’d have received some very odd looks if you had nominated this combination of England three-quarters and full-back at the start of the tournament six weeks ago, and Borthwick’s lines may have become blurred between long-term planning and short-term expediency.

But here they are, with Borthwick promising “pace, a left-foot option [in Daly] and finding space” from the backline, while the trio of Ben and Tom Curry with Ben Earl in the back row is designed to fight Wales led by their captain Jac Morgan for every millimetre at the breakdown.

Across the whole England 23, you could identify, highly unusually, four No 7s and three No 10s (with George Ford returning to the bench), with just two locks and one centre.

The latter position has further eyebrow-raising connotations, with Earl said by Borthwick on Wednesday to be the first in line to cover a possible injury to Dingwall at No 12 – which is not an obscure prospect, as Lawrence, the poor bloke, went down in the ninth minute last Sunday when he ruptured an Achilles tendon with no one near him.

The other tactic raised by Borthwick was the fly-half Fin Smith – “a stand-out defender” – switching to No 12. This appeared more likely as a future development than this week, but still Saturday is a possibility and it could, Borthwick said, see England with Ford and the two Smiths as a playmaking trio of fly-halves on the field together.

All rolled together, it was not the kind of selection you would imagine England springing in, say, an away Test in South Africa or a World Cup final, which might just make some Welsh supporters think they are being taken lightly.

There again, maybe they should be, as they are on a run of 16 straight Test losses. Saturday at 4.45pm, with England needing a win and other results to go their way to become champions, will be the proving time of everything Borthwick has been working on in training.