Steve Borthwick MUST add variety to England’s attack – here’s how: Copy the South African blueprint, start Fin Smith against Italy, tap into club combinations and be braver with Marcus Smith

There is a giant pet shop a few hundred metres from England’s training base in Bagshot that Steve Borthwick should visit for some inspiration.

Not for comforting hugs with their fluffy rabbits – although the head coach may need that after the last fortnight – but to admire some of the South African chameleons. For argument’s sake, let’s refer to these creatures as Rassie Erasmus.

When it comes to rugby selections, Erasmus has mastered the art of changing his team’s colours for every match. He finds ways to shift his team’s tactical identity through a simple switch of his fly-half. Across 14 Tests in 2025, Erasmus changed his No 10 seven times, rotating between Handre Pollard, Manie Libbok and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

It was a similar case when the Springboks retained the World Cup in Paris in 2023. Erasmus changed his fly-half five times in seven games en route to the final, ruthlessly switching his playmakers during the match if things were not going to plan. He switched seamlessly between Libbok’s running lines and Pollard’s game management to discover a formula that never allowed the opposition to settle.

Steve Borthwick changed his No 10 four times across 12 Test matches in 2025, settling into a steady rhythm as George Ford took control of a masterplan of territorial and aerial dominance.

England established a clear blueprint for success that ultimately became too predictable. Their competitive advantage at contestable kicks has been gobbled up and that area of strength has become a weakness. 

Rather than imposing one fixed style, Borthwick desperately needs to add more dimensions to England’s attack to prevent them from slipping into a deeper decline following the defeats by Scotland and Ireland. England emphasise the importance of cohesion and consistency but that does not mean they should be wedded to the idea of George Ford being a permanent fixture in the No 10 jersey.

No player in England’s backline has more experience than Ford. The 32-year-old has played in three World Cups – 2015, 2019 and 2023 – and is most likely the man Borthwick will turn to in the high-pressure Tests at next year’s World Cup.

His drop goals clawed England out of a hole when Tom Curry was sent off in the opening match against Argentina in Marseille in 2023 when most fly-halves would have gone into panic mode. He is one of England’s most reliable operators and his bank of experience means he can be drafted into the starting team at any given moment.

But when England were trailing 22-0 after 30 minutes against Ireland on Saturday, Erasmus would have hooked his playmaker immediately. He would have turned to Marcus Smith on the bench and inspired his reserve to change the rhythm of the match with his deft touches. Instead, Smith was brought on at full-back, where his impact is limited to secondary touches.

England failed to adapt and the scrutiny on Borthwick is fiercer than ever. Talk of growing cohesion and predicted win rates do not instil confidence in the middle of a crisis. Defeat in Rome next week would be terminal for public faith. England have never lost to Italy but their upcoming opponents look more dangerous than ever before.

Borthwick must demonstrate that he is not a one-dimensional coach. His victories over New Zealand and Australia are last year’s news and England urgently need to change their colours.

The answer lies in the Smiths. While Marcus Smith offers the most radical change to England’s attack, his Test ambitions have been held back by stunted development plans at Harlequins. He has the highest performance ceiling of England’s No 10s but it is hard to see him starting World Cup games at fly-half unless things change markedly at his club where he has been held back by multiple coaching changes, no cohesion and poor form.    

Borthwick has 18 months to expand England’s attacking outlets and that should begin with selecting Fin Smith against Italy. The Saints playmaker is at the heart of Northampton’s gameplan that can provide an alternative to Ford’s controlled, tactical kicking approach.

England’s tries were built around unstructured, low-phase attack in the autumn: in layman’s terms: kick, regain the ball and score. They were perfectly executed by Ford but there has been a shift back toward high-phase play in recent weeks: keeping the ball in hand more in an attempt to break down the opposition.

No one in the Prem has a sharper multi-phase, ball-in-hand, attack than Northampton, whose playmakers organise passing pods better than anyone. Smith should be deployed with his club-mate, George Furbank, who offers significantly more ball-playing skills at full-back than Freddie Steward. 

Together they could vastly improve England’s strike rate in the opposition 22 with the crisp handling and running that flows through their club’s attack.  

England have the manpower to change their approach and they desperately need to develop their contingency plans. Having Ford and Fin Smith – and Marcus hopefully – as viable options at No 10 depending on the opposition, the score, the game, would add variety and unpredictability to Borthwick’s side. And that is something that has been sorely lacking in the last two matches.

Given the limited impact of Henry Arundell on the wing, Furbank and Fin Smith’s Saints team-mate George Hendy should also be in contention in the absence of the injured Manny Feyi-Waboso and Adam Radwan. 

No player is safe. There are debates from 1 to 15. Who can bring more ball-carrying clout? Should Alex Coles come in at No 6 to offer an additional lineout threat? Why is Max Ojomoh nowhere near Pennyhill Park?

But the biggest question will always be about Borthwick’s No 10 options. Or more specifically, can England change their colours to keep the predators at bay?