Head coach Borthwick, captain Farrell talk after the England announcement

Head coach Borthwick, captain Farrell talk after the England announcement

Steve Borthwick, head coach

On his selection at 10-12-13:

"Within this combination, Manu [Tuilagi] and Joe Marchant have played at centres together, and Owen [Farrell] and Manu at 10 and 12. With Marcus [Smith], he has come on as a sub and added enormously so he deserves a start for this game.

On the selection of Smith at full-back:

"I analyse the opposition with my coaching team, we go through exactly how we want to play, then go through the selection process.


"It was discussed months ago in the preparation camps and having that time with the players and being able to work on certain aspects has been brilliant - and I think Marcus has really embraced the opportunity [to move from fly-half]. You look at the back three players we have, it's great to have different combinations and strengths. This starting back three is the right one for this weekend."

On whether Smith at full-back is a long-term option:


"I've talked about having flexibility - have players who can play at the highest level in multiple positions is an an incredible strength at the World Cup.

Owen Farrell, England

On learnings from the recent loss to Fiji at Twickenham:

"It helps to have played against them not so long ago but at the same time we feel like we've moved on - that feels like a long time ago. That's not to say there's not lessons to be learnt from it, that the threats are not the same, but we've been building since then."

On the excitement levels:

"I'm excited. We've had a good week, trying not to be too up or down. It's nice, there's going to be a good build-up, being able to watch the other quarter-finals will put us in a good mood for Sunday."

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