Steve Borthwick has insisted he knows how much Marcus Smith will be hurting after dropping the fly-half because the England coach was previously ditched as captain when on his honeymoon in Bali.
Smith has been omitted from the England side to face Italy on Sunday with Owen Farrell starting at fly-half 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 but Borthwick has again showing his ruthless streak, having already dropped Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs from his matchday squad.
In last Saturday’s defeat by Scotland, Borthwick stuck by the Smith-Farrell partnership at 10-12 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 he was adamant the groundswell of external noise played no part in his decision.
Instead, Borthwick pointed to Slade’s return, Farrell’s defensive qualities 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.”
F Steward (Leicester); M Malins (Saracens), H Slade (Exeter), O Lawrence (Bath), O Hassell-Collins (London Irish); O Farrell (Saracens, capt), J Van Poortvliet (Leicester); E Genge (Bristol), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Bristol), M Itoje (Saracens), O Chessum (Leicester), L Ludlam (Northampton), J Willis (Toulouse), A Dombrandt (Harlequins).
Replacements J Walker (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester), N Isiekwe (Saracens), B Earl (Saracens), A Mitchell (Northampton), M Smith (Harlequins), H Arundell (London Irish).
Borthwick has made 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 Toulouse – 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 he and Willis 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,” Borthwick said. “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.”
