Steve Borthwick revealed that Marcus Smith was an ultimate professional when told that he would be dropped from the England team to face Italy.
Smith has been relegated to the bench in favour of Elliot Daly, a specialist in the high ball, but Borthwick commended the Harlequins man on his response to tough news.
“I told Marcus about selection and he went out and trained brilliantly,” Borthwick said. “Which is immense credit to him as a person.
“I’ve been really clear and open with the players throughout. I understand that every player wants to start – it’s been the same for every England player in every generation.
“But I’ll stress; I think we have a lot of talented players; a lot of talented backs with attacking ability.
“Marcus has done so many things very well and when I talked to him I said that he’s a game-changer – that’s the best way I can describe it. He has an impact on games
“We all know that he has the ability to find space that other players can’t. The exciting thing I’m looking forward to this weekend is unleashing him when there is a bit of fatigue on the pitch, a bit of space on the pitch.
“When he comes on with his freshness the whole stadium will be excited. I’m looking forward to seeing him enter the game against tiring defenders.
“Elliot is a really good attacking strong player but it’s never just about one player, it’s about the team.”
