England v Italy,
Twickenham,
Sunday, 3pm — Live on RTÉ and ITV
Steve Borthwick has insisted he knows how much Marcus Smith is hurting after dropping the outhalf because he was previously ditched as England captain when on his honeymoon in Bali. Borthwick also revealed the groundswell of external noise played no part in his decision to split up Smith’s partnership with Owen Farrell.
Smith has been axed from the England side to face Italy on Sunday with Farrell starting at outhalf for the first time in two years, while Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade form an eye-catching centre partnership. Smith had started England’s last 15 matches with Borthwick again showing his ruthless streak, having already dropped Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs from his matchday squad.
In last week’s defeat by Scotland, Borthwick stuck by the Smith-Farrell partnership at 10 and 12 but, as in the previous seven matches, it proved a mixed bag. World Cup winners Clive Woodward and Lawrence Dallaglio are among those to urge Borthwick to dispense with it but while the head coach has granted their wish, he was adamant their views played no part in his decision.
Instead, Borthwick pointed to Slade’s return, Farrell’s defensive qualities after England shipped four tries against Scotland and the threat posed by Italy. “Every player would be disappointed,” said Borthwick, who has also named Henry Arundell on the bench. “You’re talking to the man who got dropped from the England captaincy when he was on honeymoon [in 2010]. I’m walking down the beach in Bali with my wife and I get a phone call [from Martin Johnson] saying, ‘hey Steve you’re no longer England captain! Actually you’re no longer in the England squad’. It hurts but what you’ve got to do is keep working to get better.”
Asked whether he pays attention to the outside noise, Borthwick — who never played for England again after Johnson’s phone call — added: “I listen to people that are really close to me. In terms of [assistant coaches] Kevin Sinfield and Nick Evans I’ve got two people who know a fair bit about how to play in playmaking positions and understand the game. I listen to the people who give me clear insight.”
Borthwick has made just one change to his pack with Jack Willis coming in at openside flanker. Willis would have started against Scotland if not for his commitments with Toullouse — the club he moved to when Wasps folded — but has been selected for his “hunting” qualities. With Lawrence winning his ninth cap, having performed well all season despite Worcester’s demise and his subsequent move to Bath, both players have impressed Borthwick in how they have responded to adversity. “[Ollie] is a young man who has also been through a lot, like Jack, and he seems to have handled that in a really resilient manner,” said Borthwick. “To have played as well as he has this year, I think everybody would agree how well he’s played and how he’s earned his selection.” — Guardian
ENGLAND: F Steward; M Malins, H Slade, O Lawrence, O Hassell-Collins; O Farrell (capt), J Van Poortvliet; E Genge, J George, K Sinckler; M Itoje, O Chessum; L Ludlam, J Willis, A Dombrandt.
Replacements: J Walker, M Vunipola, D Cole, N Isiekwe, B Earl, A Mitchell, M Smith, H Arundell.
ITALY: Ange Capuozzo; Edoardo Padovani, Juan Ignacio Brex, Luca Morisi, Tommaso Menoncello; Tommaso Allan, Stephen Varney; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Marco Riccioni; Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza; Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro (capt), Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: Luca Bigi, Federico Zani, Simone Ferrari, Edoardo Iachizzi, Jake Polledri, Manuel Zuliani, Alessandro Fusco, Pierre Bruno.
