MARSEILLE, France (AP) — England made the bold decision to start Marcus Smith at fullback for the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Fiji on Sunday.
Smith, typically a flyhalf, was handed his first international start at No. 15 for the pool match against Chile in what was regarded as an experiment.
England coach Steve Borthwick is going with the same ploy for his team's biggest match of the tournament, with Freddie Steward — who has been a solid option at fullback for the past two years — not even making the matchday 23.
Steward is reliable under the high ball but that might not be important against Fiji, whose attacking game relies on its power runners and offloading more than up-and-unders and an aerial threat. That might explain Borthwick's preference for Smith, who has more flair as a broken-field runner.
Owen Farrell reverts to flyhalf, meaning George Ford drops to the bench.
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England: Marcus Smith, Jonny May, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi, Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell, Alex Mitchell; Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes, Ollie Chessum, Maro Itoje, Dan Cole, Jamie George, Ellis Genge. Reserves: Theo Dan, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, George Martin, Billy Vunipola, Danny Care, George Ford, Ollie Lawrence.
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AP Rugby World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
