Smith's uphill battle to regain England place after Italy axe

Marcus Smith faces an uphill battle to regain his England place after Steve Borthwick sought to kickstart his side's spluttering attack by axing the Harlequins playmaker, dealing a major blow to his British & Irish Lions hopes.

- Gerard Meagher

Borthwick dropped Smith for Sunday's Six Nations fixture with Italy in a one-on-one meeting in England's hotel bar and has offered him no assurances over his future place in the starting XV with Elliot Daly coming in at full-back. In his favoured position of fly-half, Fin Smith continues and with Fraser Dingwall replacing Henry Slade at inside-centre, Borthwick has picked five Northampton backs and highlighted the cohesion that brings.

Borthwick has challenged Smith to be "a gamechanger" when he comes off the bench, urging him to take advantage of tired bodies. He has delivered mixed performances in his last two outings at full-back, however, and, along with Slade, has paid the price.