CHRIS FOY: Bringing on George Ford was the logical call for England

CHRIS FOY: Bringing on fresh George Ford was the logical call during England’s Six Nations opener with Scotland… it is hindsight that has generated uproar over Eddie Jones’ decision

• England lost 20-17 to Scotland in their Six Nations opener on Saturday afternoon
• Eddie Jones made the decision to take Marcus Smith off when England led 17-10
• Smith scored all 17 of England’s points before being taken off after 62 minutes
• George Ford replaced Smith – with many fans complaining over the decision   

When Marcus Smith was replaced by George Ford at Murrayfield, there was no hint of the outrage to come. This observer remarked to neighbours in the press box that it appeared a shrewd move.

There was no sense of shockwaves reverberating around the stands, as if England fans were up in arms about the decision. There was no explosion of indignation on the television commentary or on social media. The visitors had established a position of command and were bringing on a canny veteran to close out the contest. In the moment, it hardly seemed like an act of self-destruction. That’s because, in the circumstances, the change had logic and merit.

Hindsight has generated uproar. England lost and it’s all because they took off Smith, apparently. But that’s simply not true. The fundamental causes of their rapid collapse occurred elsewhere. Free-kicks and penalties were conceded up front. Scotland’s replacement props shifted the balance of power towards the hosts, then Finn Russell’s instincts and execution forced a penalty try, Luke Cowan-Dickie departed to the sin-bin, the Scottish crowd came alive and the whole tone changed.

Eddie Jones made the controversial decision to take off fly-half Marcus Smith against Scotland

Smith had scored all of England’s 17 points before being replaced, but he was not flawless. One cross-kick towards Henry Slade flew too high into touch, he was off target with the conversion attempt after touching down and, soon afterwards, the Quins prodigy kicked it dead when aiming to send a penalty into the corner.

At that stage, Jones, his assistants and analysts, armed with an array of detailed performance and work-rate data, may have felt that Smith was tiring — or slightly losing composure. That is not to deny that he played well, because he did, but sending on a man with fresh legs and acclaimed game-management instincts was not a reckless judgement call at the time.

Consider the experience angle. It was Smith’s first Six Nations game, away from home and still in the balance, whereas Ford has been round this particular block many times. He has come off the bench and hit the ground running before, in high-stakes situations, as he did in 2019 — orchestrating a dramatic fightback to earn a draw against the same opponents at Twickenham.

George Ford replaced Smith and many believed he was unable to give England the same spark

Smith scored all 17 of England’s points before being taken off after 62 minutes at Murrayfield

England had the apparent luxury of bringing on a master conductor at the peak of his powers, to see them home. That was the equation, at the time.

One argument doing the rounds is that Smith was the best man for that job based on what he has been doing of late for Quins. In fact, he has made an art form of dragging games out of the fire.

He has repeatedly chased and snatched wins at the death, with astonishing, daring feats of creativity under extreme pressure. He was the right man for a chase and once that was the scenario, there’s no doubt that England would have wanted him back out there.

But Smith would have needed the ball. While the default if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it theory is a fair one in most cases, what could the brilliant rookie have done better with the (lack of) service Ford received. The Leicester No 10 came on in the 63rd minute and he didn’t touch the ball in open play until the 79th.

The decision to take Smith off irritated fans – who took to social media to vent their frustration  

However, that’s simply not true. The fundamental causes of England’s rapid collapse occurred due to the free-kicks and penalties conceded up front

During that time, his two restarts aimed towards the left touchline caused trouble for Scotland. One yielded an attacking lineout for England and, but for a faint knock-on by Joe Marchant, the other nearly achieved the same positive outcome. Ford’s two late penalties to touch on the other side of the field didn’t go far enough — no question — but Slade had been in charge of those while Smith was playing, so why did that change?

The cracks appeared in other parts of the Red Rose facade. At one lineout, England gave away a free-kick, then at another they conceded a penalty.

They were then penalised at a scrum to allow Russell to kick Scotland into the 20-17 lead which they clung on to. Ford could do nothing about these forward lapses — neither would Smith have been able to prevent them.

This is part of another fundamental point about control and ascendancy in rugby. There is a perception that the fly-half always dictates terms, but the reality is that what happens up front goes a long way to deciding the outcome. The men behind must work with what they’re given.

The Scottish crowd came alive and the whole tone changed after Luke Cowan-Dickie (above) departed to the sin-bin following his a yellow card

Ford held up well in defence as Scotland surged forward. When he missed a tackle on Sam Skinner, he quickly scrambled back to help bring down Stuart Hogg seconds later. But when there was one last attacking opportunity, from a reset scrum in stoppage time at the end, England’s No 22 couldn’t spark a final twist, as he released Elliot Daly, who was isolated and the ball was stolen.

Smith may have been able to pull a rabbit from a hat at that moment, but when he was taken off, that wasn’t the situation. That wasn’t what was needed.

What was needed was a canny conductor to play territory and shut down the game, which in turn required possession. Smith wouldn’t have received the ball either — and even he can’t make miracles happen without it.

When Ford was sent on, one leading former England player welcomed the decision, saying: ‘Smith has done well and the in-form fly-half is coming on. Not a bad position to be in.’ That was how it looked to these eyes too. The same ex-player condemned the decision as a mistake after the game.

All the angst in the aftermath is understandable. England blew a winning position. There should be a harsh inquest because they unravelled in the closing stages. But the outrage in hindsight about the removal of Smith is misplaced. It was a fair option at the time — and it was not the deciding factor, anyway.

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