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England explain why they have dropped Marcus Smith and Henry Slade
By PA
England coach Steve Borthwick is looking forward to “unleashing” Marcus Smith once opponents Italy are fatigued after dropping him to the bench for Sunday’s meeting at the Allianz Stadium.
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Smith was moved from number 10 to full-back following the 27-22 defeat to Ireland in Dublin that began England’s Guinness Six Nations campaign but, despite compelling victories over France and Scotland, the Harlequins playmaker has been ditched from the line-up.
It opens the door for Elliot Daly to step in at 15, while there is also a change at centre with Fraser Dingwall recalled for his first Test appearance in a year in place of Henry Slade, who is out of the 23 altogether.
Smith’s exclusion from the starting XV is the biggest bombshell, continuing a rapid fall from grace for the 26-year-old. He has been involved in all 10 of England’s Tests since the last Six Nations but, having lost the 10 jersey to Fin Smith after Dublin, he now finds himself watching on as cover.
“We have got a lot of talented players, a lot of talented backs with attacking ability,” said Borthwick. “Marcus has done so many things we want. He is a game-changer. He has impact in games. When he has the impact, it’s a different time of the game now to what it has been.
“Marcus has done some really outstanding things. He has the ability to find space that other players can’t.
“The exiting thing I’m looking forward to is unleashing him when there is a bit of fatigue on the pitch, there is a bit of space, he comes on with his freshness. The whole of Allianz Stadium will be excited to see him come onto the pitch in the second half.”
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England trail leaders Ireland by four points going into the penultimate weekend and have lifted themselves back into title contention with two impressive victories. As well as the ousting of Smith, a recall for Dingwall – who is more of a facilitator for those around him than an impact player – is a curveball selection given he was axed after winning his two caps in the 2024 Six Nations.
“In certain positions, we are in a really strong circumstance, to have quality players all competing and helping each other,” said Borthwick. “You see that at 10, you see it at 15. I would love to have it in every position but it allows me to have slight tweaks, slight changes in the makeup of the team.”
The rejig means that Borthwick’s backs selection for Italy is made up of five Northampton players. Along with Dingwall at 12, wingers Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme both start, as do Fin Smith at 10 and Alex Mitchell at scrum-half.
Borthwick was asked whether benched Harlequins star Smith would therefore find it tough to reclaim his place, saying: “It’s one of the factors. When you need to change the team, when you want to keep consistency in the team.
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“I want to build a togetherness, I’m not going to change the team hugely but there will always be little tweaks and I feel this is the right one for this game. Elliot Daly is a really good attacking, strong player. It’s never just about one player, it’s about the team.”
