Will Greenwood on Eddie Jones' fly-half decision, the rising star of Henry Arundell and the major loss of Tom Curry; watch the second Test between Australia and England in Brisbane on Saturday July 9, live on Sky Sports Action from 10.15am
Monday 4 July 2022 14:33, UK
"The interesting thing about it is they are both lead singers and you don't have two lead singers in the band," says Will Greenwood on the fly-half and centre partnership between Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith.
England head coach Eddie Jones has been under pressure to change his 10-12 partnership after England's 30-28 series opener loss to the Wallabies, with many calling for one of Smith and Farrell to start on the bench for the remainder of the tour.
Having only played together twice, the former England captain and his apprentice have been a continuously debated hot topic among England fans and for Sky Sports' Will Greenwood, Jones must decide whether to go with the "aging rocker" Farrell or take a chance on the young up-and-coming Smith.
"It is like Mick Jagger and Harry Styles," said Greenwood.
"Owen Farrell is like Mick Jagger, he is like an aging rocker, just so good, so much muscle memory about winning, whether you like him or not he is a winner.
"Then Marcus Smith is like your Harry Styles - I want to be him and I am going to go on to become him but I am not him yet.
"The interesting thing about it is they are both lead singers and you don't have two lead singers in the band.
"I think you pick one of them and let them lead the team then have a pair of centres next to them and one sits on the bench.
"When you play them both, when they got under pressure, it just looked a little bit disjointed and they didn't look to be playing their natural game.
"For your fly-half, for your lead singer, you have just got to let them go front and centre and own it."
Finding creativity in the backline is not the only challenge that England will have to overcome heading into the second Test as head coach Jones will be deciding who should replace the injured Tom Curry, who has been withdrawn for the remainder of the tour with a concussion.
For Greenwood, the answer lies in England's strength in depth and could present an opportunity for Jack Willis.
He continued: "He [Curry] is a superstar. He is already on social media today saying that he is going to fly home after the Brisbane Test and he can't wait to see them tear it up.
"He is such a team player but it creates a selection issue for Eddie.
"Lewis Ludlam came off the bench and was fabulous for about 25 or 30 minutes.
"I don't want to overpromote young kids just because they are playing great, but at the same time, Jack Willis at Wasps, only three caps, had an horrific knee injury a while back and has fought so hard to come back.
"He is excellent at the breakdown and can really nullify Hooper who is Australia's captain.
"He could go to Sam Underhill, Eddie often goes to Underhill at seven.
"Personally, I think Jack Willis would be worth a run at seven, Billy Vunipola at eight and keep the rest of the back line as it was."
England have already seen on this tour what their 'apprentices' can do when given a chance on the main stage, 19-year-old Henry Arundell scoring a wonder try with his first touch in the dying moments of the game.
Although Jonny May will be back in contention for a spot on the wing, Greenwood believes that such a display of talent should be enough for the London Irish player to start the second Test.
"He has been doing this for London Irish all year, he is only 19 and gets some great hands out the back," Greenwood added.
"Australia have switched off a bit, you have always got to understand that, they have the game won but it still needs scoring.
"On the back of that, with the way that England's backline didn't fire at the weekend, I suspect if Jonny May hadn't been unfit, Henry as an apprentice probably wouldn't have been involved in the 23.
"But life is about taking your chances, it is about kicking the door down when it is opened an inch.
"It has opened an inch and he has scored a wonder try.
"On the back of that you would expect Eddie to go to him this week, put him in the back three and say 'kid, no one else could score for 79 minutes, you were half decent, have a pop'."
England are in action for the second Test of the three-Test series vs Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Action from 10.15am (10.55am kick off).
