- England will begin its 2025 campaign of the six nations to Ireland on Saturday
- Marcus Smith will begin as NO 10 of England, with Freddie Steward on the full back
- Northampton Smith is expected to be included in replacements
Marcus Smith He is ready to retain the shirt No. 10 for the first game of the six nations of England against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, with Freddie Steward to start at full speed.
Steve Borthwick is adjusting his selection plans in Girona, northern Spain, before the transcendental moment of his team with the titles headlines, in the first weekend of this year's championship.
After having been plagued with recent setbacks, the chief coach seeks to ensure that England is as established and cohesive as possible by entering the discouraging accessory in the Aviva stadium.
On that basis, Mail Sport understands that after weeks of intense speculation, the Flyfly Marcus Smith Harlequins are ongoing to continue in their place favored in the initial XV, with the end Smith of Northampton it is expected to be included among the replacements.
For a period, it seemed that the two Smiths would be unleashed together, but the loss of immanuel Feyi-Waboso, added to the absence of George Furbank, may have forced a rethinking.
Ireland will surely attack England with an aerial onslaught, which means that a retirement for Leicester's back, the administrator, makes sense.
Marcus Smith will use the No 10 shirt for England in Saturday's game with Ireland in Dublin
Freddie Steward is expected to play in the first game of England of the six nations 2025.
The 24 -year -old will be accused of handling a alluvion of high shot of the hosts, as well as presenting the type of threat of depth that has seen it causing ravages for the tigers this season.
Marcus Smith will be driven by the return of his main partner, Alex Mitchell, who lost the autumn nations series due to an injury.
Half of Northampton Scrum suffered a leg injury in the victory of the Saints Champions Cup over Munster, before joining England, which meant that he could not train last week. But it is understood that he has recovered and had to return to training today. Its availability will significantly improve England's perspectives in Dublin.
While Borthwick is expected to persist with the Henry Slade midfield alliance and Ollie Lawrence, he faces a dilemma that extends. Tommy Freeman will collect where he left him in November as one of the initial wings, but with Feyi-Waboso recovering from shoulder surgery, the other place is at stake.
Ollie Sleightholme should be the next taxi out of the range, but has had the lack of recent game time, so Tom Roebuck could prefer for sale, another aerial asset.
In the front, the withdrawal of the squad of former Captain Jamie George has left a vacuum in Hooker and the man most likely to fill it is the experienced Leon of Sale, Luke Cowan-Deckie, with Theo Dan among the reserves. Ellis Genge and Will Stuart are ready to continue as the initial accessories, with the new Captain Maro Itoje maintaining his second -row association with George Martin.
The back row is the area of the greatest English depth. Borthwick has a multitude of star candidates to choose from, even though Sam Underhill is on the list of victims again. Given the faith of the Management in Ollie Chessum to be up to date after a single return appearance for Leicester, he is the favorite to align in blindside Flanker, with Tom Curry in Openside and Ben Earl in No 8. Tom Willis could be within containment of a bank paper in 23.