Borthwick to revamp England squad, Fin Smith slated to start vs Italy

Steve Borthwick is prepared to dramatically reshape his underperforming England team for Saturday’s Six Nations meeting with Italy, with Fin Smith likely to receive the No 10 shirt.

The Northampton fly‑half missed Monday’s training due to illness, but the union has swiftly dismissed concerns about his availability for the Italy game. Assuming he recovers, Smith is set to start at fly‑half in place of George Ford.

Since the Argentina tour last summer, Ford has been Borthwick’s preferred fly‑half, yet he endured a poor performance against Ireland and was booed after twice missing the touchline with kicks to the corner. Smith, by contrast, has only featured sporadically in the tournament so far.

Borthwick is also likely to reshuffle his centre pairing and back three, possibly fielding a back‑line with just one survivor from the heavy loss to Ireland, as Tommy Freeman is expected to shift from wing to centre.

With Alex Mitchell sidelined by a hamstring problem, Bath’s Ben Spencer is the front‑runner for the No 9 role, ahead of Leicester’s Jack van Poortvliet.

In the absence of Ollie Lawrence, who is nursing a knee injury, Freeman should revert to outside centre, a position he occupied against Wales and Scotland, while Tom Roebuck returns on the right wing. At full‑back, Freddie Steward’s spot is under serious scrutiny, and on the left wing Cadan Murley is being considered for a second Six Nations outing, with Seb Atkinson poised to replace Fraser Dingwall at inside centre. Fewer alterations are expected among the forwards, though Borthwick remains uneasy about Ollie Chessum, who missed Monday’s training.

England’s chances of securing the Six Nations crown have vanished, yet they have never been beaten by Italy, and back‑rower Ben Earl disclosed that some hard truths have been aired this week.

“These are the weeks when the lads have a spark in their eye,” he said. “They are serious. You look at some of the senior players and think, ‘something good is coming.’ We all hope that will materialise on Saturday.

“A few of us met last Wednesday and spoke openly. Some squad members feel they haven’t contributed enough or performed to standard. Once that is out in the open, it’s about how we move forward.”

England have also drawn motivation from two‑time Olympic skeleton champion Matt Weston. The 29‑year‑old, who was a favourite for gold at Milan‑Cortina, previously fell short at the Beijing Winter Games four years earlier.

“He talked about Beijing and how he felt he had let everyone down,” Earl recalled. “He described a major push toward the next Olympics and his four‑year plan. That naturally caught the lads’ attention with talk of World Cup cycles. We then discussed what he needed to do to be in the best position for that Olympics and the hardships he endured over those four years.