Borthwick explains leaving Marcus Smith out of latest England squad

England head coach Steve Borthwick has explained why he felt it best to omit Marcus Smith from this week’s fallow week training camp in Brighton, the place that the Harlequins No10 calls home as it was where he was brought up. Borthwick’s 26-man squad will train at Brighton College, the school where Smith initially nurtured his potential at a teenager before signing for Quins, but he will be marked absent from the camp that lasts from Tuesday afternoon through to Thursday.

When Borthwick previously named a 26-man squad for the fallow week camp in London after the round two win over Italy, Smith was included along with skipper Owen Farrell who had taken the No10 jersey from him for that clash with the Azzurri.

That was the first time in 16 matches in which Smith wasn’t named as the starting England No10. Having since played less than a minute off the bench in last Saturday’s round three win away to Wales, it has now been decided that it would be for the best that he went back to Harlequins to play in their upcoming Gallagher Premiership match at home to Exeter on Saturday rather than train this week with England.

That decision will see Smith run out at Twickenham, the stadium Harlequins are using for their Big Game promotion that was held over from the Christmas period due to a train strike, while Ford - who was Smith’s understudy during the 2022 Six Nations when Farrell was injured - will now train with Farrell as the second No10 in this week’s England squad.

Asked to explain the logic behind his decision to release Smith from England for club duty, Borthwick said: “You make a decision on which players really need to benefit more from either being in training or game time. I decided the decision was Marcus would benefit from game time at his club this weekend and having that match sharpness. That is why I decided that decision.”

Does this now leave Ford as the front-runner to be in the England match day 23 versus France on March 11? “I picked a squad for a fallow week training camp and made a decision on what every player needs. I’m not picking a squad for next week. That squad will be decided and distributed as it normally is on Sunday evening as the squad assembles for Test week,” continued Borthwick.

“We are not in Test week, we are in a training camp week where I felt the best decision for Marcus is to get some game time. George had played for his club [Sale] at the weekend, so this is an opportunity for Marcus to go and play. He had very limited game time because of the nature of the game (versus Wales) and the decision I made on Saturday, so I thought this was a step forward.

“This is an opportunity for me to work with George over the next couple of days. We are blessed we have got some fantastic fly-halves in this country, with Owen and his ability to play at 12 as well, Marcus, George Ford, and I was on the phone to Fin Smith yesterday [Monday] as well - he is a brilliant young player, so we are blessed with plenty good options there.

“On a weekly basis, you are here making a decision on what is the right thing for the player this week to be ready to play for England. For all our players I am making those decisions. For some it is game time, for others it is to be in training camp here.”

Borthwick was Ford’s club coach at Leicester last year when Tigers won the Premiership title. Ford was seriously injured in that final and he only returned to play earlier this month for Sale, the club he joined last summer. What has the England coach made of Ford’s club return so far, and what message did he give to Smith about playing for Harlequins next Saturday?

“George has come back from injury and being out for some time, he is looking tremendously sharp. That shows the work he has done in terms of his rehab there and recovery from injury. He is looking in great, great condition and he is clearly a very experienced player.

“That adds to the strength we have in that position. I’m looking forward to seeing Marcus play this weekend, and Fin Smith has been in camp and I have been hugely impressed. It shows the position where we are blessed to have a number of top-quality players.

“For any player when they are playing for their club, I want them to play like they are Test match players. That gives the very best to their club, which is really important to these players and the supporters of those clubs. That also puts them in the best situation to be ready to play Test match rugby. Just get as close to playing Test match rugby - that is the message I constantly give to players who are playing for their clubs.”