Marcus Smith dropped as England shake up backline for Italy clash

Henry Slade is out of the 23 altogether.

Marcus Smith looks on — Marcus Smith has been dropped at full-back by England (Adam Davy/PA)

England have dropped Marcus Smith and Henry Slade in a dramatic shake-up of the backline for Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Italy at Allianz Stadium.

Smith is demoted to the bench to make way for the recall of Elliot Daly at full-back, while Slade is jettisoned from the 23 altogether, with Fraser Dingwall making his first Test appearance since last year’s championship.

The reshaped midfield sees Dingwall slot in at inside centre, with Ollie Lawrence remaining in the number 13 jersey.

Despite compiling victories over France and Scotland, head coach Steve Borthwick has made a third change by opting for Jamie George over Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker.

George marks his return to the front row after two replacement appearances by winning his 100th cap.

Smith’s exclusion from the starting XV is the biggest bombshell, continuing a rapid fall from grace for the Harlequins playmaker.

Since last year’s Six Nations he has been involved in all 10 of England’s Tests, starting at fly-half in each of them apart from the recent wins against France and Scotland.

Having lost the number 10 jersey to Fin Smith after the opening weekend loss to Ireland, he was moved to full-back where he showed some neat touches without taking command of the position.

England were building their tam around Marcus Smith last year but now he is on the bench — England were building their team around Marcus Smith last year but now he is on the bench (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Now he finds himself on the bench as cover for Fin Smith and Daly, who impressed during his cameos as a replacement in the recent one-point wins that have propelled England back into title contention.

Slade pays the price for failing to make an impact for England over a period of time, although the return of Dingwall is still a curveball selection given he was axed after winning his two caps in the 2024 Six Nations.

Dingwall is more of a facilitator for those around him than an impact player and his presence lifts the number of Northampton players in the backs to four.

Apart from George’s promotion at hooker, the pack is unchanged with Tom Willis given the all clear after passing the return to play protocols for concussion.

The six-two split between forwards and backs remains on the bench, but with Marcus Smith and Jack van Poortvliet providing half-back cover. Van Poortvliet is set to make his first appearance of the tournament in place of Harry Randall.

Elliot Daly has been recalled at full-back two games after scoring the match-winning try against France as a replacement (David Davies/PA)

Running out at Twickenham on Sunday will be a moment of personal triumph for George, who revealed that he considered quitting international rugby when he was replaced as captain by Maro Itoje in January.

“Reaching 100 caps is a wonderful achievement that reflects Jamie’s talent, dedication and hard work,” Borthwick said.

“He has consistently given his all while wearing an England shirt and the team couldn’t be prouder of his incredible milestone.”

England team: E Daly (Saracens); T Freeman (Northampton), O Lawrence (Bath), F Dingwall (Northampton), O Sleightholme (Northampton); F Smith (Northampton), A Mitchell (Northampton); E Genge (Bristol), J George (Saracens), W Stuart (Bath), M Itoje (Saracens, captain), O Chessum (Leicester), T Curry (Sale), B Earl (Saracens), T Willis (Saracens).

Replacements: L Cowan-Dickie (Sale), F Baxter (Harlequins), J Heyes (Leicester), T Hill (Bath), C Cunningham-South (Harlequins), B Curry (Sale), J van Poortvliet (Leicester), M Smith (Harlequins).