10 February 2023 , 22:00
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As he prepared to break the bad news to Marcus Smith, head coach Steve Borthwick thought back to a beach in Bali.
The same memory had sprung to mind before he axed Ben Youngs, England’s most-capped men’s player, in midweek - and Manu Tuilagi before that.
Borthwick recalled the moment the walls of his own rugby world came crashing down, stripping the gloss off one of the happiest moments in his life.
“You’re talking to the man who got dropped from the England captaincy when he was on honeymoon,” said the Cumbrian.
“I’m walking down the beach in Bali with my wife and I get a phone call from [team manager] Martin Johnson saying, ‘hey Steve, you’re no longer England captain. Actually you’re no longer in the England squad’.”
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Borthwick tells the story to illustrate that he knows how hard it is to receive bad news, so does not take the job of delivering it lightly.
In only his second full week with the players he has already made a number of huge calls - none bigger than dropping England’s young playmaker to face Italy.
The great and the good of rugby had told him he needed to choose between Smith and Owen Farrell at fly-half, and play the other off the bench. But that did not make pulling the trigger any easier.
“Selection is never easy,” he said. "As a player, I've been on the other side of that conversation. I remember how it feels when you've been told you are selected, been told you are captain, been told you are not selected, been told you are on the bench.
"I've been in each of those situations and I've empathy for every player in that situation, but the dynamic we want to develop here is one in which we put the team very centrally first. That’s what I’m asking every player to do.”
Smith in action against Scotland (Getty Images)This is some change given his predecessor Eddie Jones leaned heavily on a core of senior players, leaving the rest on the fringes, unsure of their place in the order of things.
Borthwick is intent on altering that, so that the collective rather than the individual is what matters.
“Sometimes your role will slightly change,” he told his players. “Sometimes you’re starting, sometimes you’re on the bench, sometimes you’re not in the 23.
“I want you to do whatever role you’re given to help the team as much as possible. It’s a selfless attitude I want to develop in this team and it’s exactly what I’ve seen from the guys not selected this week.”
Few would deny this is an exciting selection, with power in midfield thanks to conventional centres in Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence.
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Jack Willis’ return in the back row, starting a Test for the first time since he wrecked his knee in this same fixture in 2021, gives England a “hunter” at the breakdown.
Whilst on the bench the quartet of Smith, Henry Arundell, Ben Earl and Alex Mitchell hold the promise of a last-quarter show of pyrotechnics.
It is just for Italy, though, Borthwick insists. For that is how he believes he can keep everyone onside.