"Pom squad" - Brian Moore tells Steve Borthwick he got selection wrong

Monday, 16 February 2026 at 12:52

bySteven Smith

Rampant Scotland bounced back from their Six Nations defeat to Italy by blowing England away in a bonus-point victory in a pulsating Calcutta Cup at a riotous Murrayfield Stadium.

Orchestrated by the brilliant Finn Russell and playing with a ruthlessness that a shell-shocked England could not contain, the Scots were reborn — sharper, braver and infinitely more clinical than the side that had stumbled a week earlier.

England, by contrast, looked confused in selection and timid in execution. And in his Telegraph column, Brian Moore did not hold back.

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Bench split exposes a flaw

Moore pointed to the bench composition as a decisive misstep.

“The Scotland game threw up a variable that was less easily managed, one which should cause pause for thought about the split on the bench between forwards and backs and which players are selected to cover the backs positions.”

The now-conventional 6-2 split — six forwards and two backs — is designed to bring late power. But when chaos strikes, flexibility matters more than bulk.

When Fin Smith was selected among the replacements, England technically had cover at fly-half and centre. On paper, it made sense. In practice, it unravelled.

“When Borthwick picked Fin Smith, he got cover at centre and fly-half, allowing Tommy Freeman to go to the wing when Arundell got sent off and was eventually replaced. Technically, this should have worked but it disrupted the back line more than if he had opted for Marcus Smith, or another player, who can cover both fly-half and full-back.”

Moore’s argument is simple: versatility must be genuine, not theoretical.

The Marcus Smith question

Would Marcus Smith have been the better call?

Moore believes the head coach must at least ask the question.

“Borthwick needs to consider whether that option was more effective than Marcus Smith coming on at full-back with Freddie Steward moving to the wing, a place where he has been picked as first-choice on occasion. This conundrum might be one that occurs less often than not, but it is not unforeseeable and it exposes a problem with the now-conventional bench split of six forwards and two backs.”

The sending-off turned England’s back division into a game of musical chairs. Instead of steadying the system, the reshuffle fractured it. Scotland sensed the instability and attacked it relentlessly.

Russell probed. Scotland struck. England wobbled — and then collapsed.

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Captain hook adds to confusion

Moore also questioned the decision-making around leadership.

The replacement of captain Maro Itoje raised eyebrows.

“The replacement of Maro Itoje is also puzzling. Jamie George is an experienced leader, but I believe that in the absence of injury it is preferable to keep your captain on for the full game.”

Momentum in Test rugby is fragile. Authority matters. When Itoje departed, England seemed to lose both.

And timing, too, worked against them.

“As it turned out, the ending of Arundell’s 20-minute red card also appeared to have a knock-on effect when England made their forward substitutions. It was not until the 57th minute that England chose to change four forwards, by which time Scotland had scored four tries and gained a bonus point.”

By then, the damage was terminal.