Earlier this year, Fin Smith was the fly half everyone was talking about. He knocked Marcus Smith off his perch as Steve Borthwick’s first choice for England and he helped steer Northampton Saints to the Champions Cup final. When the other Finn had one off day with the boot at Twickenham the English cheerleaders were anointing him as the premature British & Irish Lions Test No10.
He made the tour to Australia, but was never remotely in contention for the Test 23, let alone to take Russell’s starting jersey. His tour tapered off. There wasn’t one moment when you thought “that’s why he’s on tour”. As great an experience as being a Lion was, is and will probably always be, in retrospect Smith would have been better off with England in Argentina.
Instead, George Ford passed, kicked and played his way back into the England No10 shirt. There had been hints in the final match of the Six Nations, against Wales in Cardiff, especially the quality of the left-handed pass sending Henry Pollock over the tryline, into the headlines and onto the plane bound for Australia.
Even if he had been playing for Sale against Glasgow – and despite his all-round excellence – Ford is not the biggest box-office draw
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Ford manipulated the two Argentina Tests. He was masterful. The game goes on around Ford. He is — when at his best — the epicentre. In November he built on strong club form early in the season to dictate the three games in which he played. Rested for the physical test of Fiji, he returned to deliver a tactical masterclass against the All Blacks. In his 105-cap career as an England fly half the 32-year-old has never had a keener grip on the England shirt.
There is no debate. If fit, Ford starts. Maybe that was behind the organisers’ decision to start this season’s Champions Cup with a Friday night in Sale. The northern No10 isn’t a sprinter, he doesn’t tackle like Jonny Wilkinson and he’s smooth where Farrell is all edge. And Marcus Smith may have magic in his boots, but Ford is flowing quite beautifully and has been since before boarding the plane to South America. He’s a gorgeous player to watch, one to learn from. But he’s not what many would regard as box office.
So why on earth did the organisers come up with a Friday night fixture, Sale Sharks versus Glasgow, as the game to kick-start this season’s Champions Cup? By the time the tournament reaches the semi-finals, it will have discovered all its flow of old, but it’s a brave man or woman who doesn’t think the beginning needs one hell of a bang. That’s not Ford. Especially on a Friday night when he wasn’t even involved. Along with two of the Sale front row, he was rested. “Tune in to see whether Tom Curry can control himself.” There’s something to the headline, but it’s not exactly what European rugby either wants or needs.
Sale’s average attendance at the 12,000-capacity CorpAcq Stadium is about 8,000
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And then there is the undeniable fact of Sale’s small crowds. The ground lacks atmosphere, especially from the comforts of the sofa — and that, of course, is where most of the money is made. You want your television to crackle. The game itself was an irrelevance of sorts. It was not the right venue for opening night. Toulouse, Bordeaux, Limerick, Bath or Northampton — yes — but not Sale, not until it is packing them in. Last season Bath lost to La Rochelle in front of a packed Recreation Ground. Not the greatest game, but the noise would have got fans onto the edge of their seats back home.
The absence of Ford only enhanced the error of this season’s choice. Sale fielded a stronger team for the visit of Exeter Chiefs last week. They lost that game and are the lower side of mid-table. In Europe they omitted three England internationals, including the fly half who makes them tick. We were asked to watch a struggling side more focused on its domestic challenges than the so-called Champions Cup. It was a bad choice from day one.
Sunday’s 1pm game would have fitted the bill as Friday’s main course. Section Paloise, otherwise known as Pau, is a quintessential French rugby town. It bleeds rugby in a way that Manchester does not. Flying high at second in the Top 14, they will give a good account of themselves against last season’s runners-up, Northampton. They are not financial powerhouses with giant squads like Toulouse and Bordeaux, but this is the heart of old time French rugby. The Saints supporters who have made their way to Pau will enjoy a wonderful weekend of hospitality.
Pau bring atmosphere to the Champions Cup and their match against Northampton would have made for a better curtain-raiser for this season’s competition
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Northampton are third in the Gallagher Prem, level on points with second-placed Exeter, but have selected a side to suggest they are giving Europe their best shot again, after their heroics in defeat against Bordeaux Bègles in last season’s final. The spine selected is clever. George Furbank takes another step towards Test contention at full back. Thereafter the Saints have picked pairs. Rory Hutchinson and the ever-influential Fraser Dingwall as a midfield partnership. The gangling Alex Coles, improving game by game, locking down with the colossal JJ van der Mescht are a formidable and well-balanced second row. Then, hoping to run the show, are the first-choice half-back pairing of Alex Mitchell and Smith.
Mitchell is a threat on the fringes. Smith has to capitalise on the space created with the England scrum half’s late arrowing movement. Outside him is one of English club rugby’s best centre pairings, while his skipper, Furbank, is there to offer assistance from full back.
Smith could do with someone taking the decision-making burden in the back line. Furbank, every inch a thinking No10 as he is a No15, can force the French to focus elsewhere. Fin Smith is a fine player, but for the moment he can forget about Ford and concentrate solely on guiding his club to what would be a decent victory against Pau with their noisy fans, their heart and soul… I’m getting excited already, even though, alas, my view is from the sofa.
Pau v Northampton Saints
Sunday, 1pm
TV Premier Sports 2