Marcus Smith is England’s starting tenner against Australia
Image credit: Daily Mail
England will play Marcus Smith at fly-half against Australia on Saturday, with skipper Owen Farrell moving to inside centre.
Smith 22, is making his third Test appearance after leading England’s under-strength teams to victories over the US and Canada in July. Centre Despite just making one start in his previous 44 England caps, Manu Tuilagi is on the wing.
To make room, Newcastle’s Adam Radwan has been dropped from the matchday roster.
Raffi Quirke and Bevan Rodd, both uncapped for Sale, are among six forwards on the bench, which also includes Alex Dombrandt of Harlequins and Sam Simmonds of Exeter.
During Jones’ tenure as coach, England has won all seven meetings against Australia, most recently defeating the Wallabies 40-16 in the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Australia’s most recent success was a pool-stage triumph at Twickenham, which ended England’s 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign early.
Smith, who played a crucial role in Harlequins’ Premiership-winning season last summer, has been charged with improving England’s attacking edge.
The stakes and pressure are high after he was chosen ahead of Leicester’s in-form George Ford for the autumn season, a partnership that dates back to the pair’s teenage years.
Smith’s preparations for the Tonga game were hampered by a small leg injury, but he scored a try to finish an outstanding second-half cameo.
Jones, who warned Smith about off-pitch distractions earlier in the week, thinks the fly-level half’s temperament and control have impressed him as much as any moments of wizardry.
According to England’s strength and conditioning coach, Tom Tombleson, Tuilagi’s body fat levels were lower and he was running faster than he had been since the start of his international career in 2011, when he started. The 30-year-old attributes his leaner diet to his wife, a shift that has made him feel less exhausted in the fourth quarter of games. Tuilagi’s only other Test start on the wing came in June 2014 in a 28-27 loss to New Zealand in Dunedin.