Steve Borthwick (Image: Getty)
Steve Borthwick has loaded the gun for Italy to shoot England’s Six Nations hopes to tatters this weekend.
What a motivator it must be for the visiting side turning up to Twickenham knowing your opponent’s best attacking player is not on the pitch.
Our football team would never leave Jude Bellingham sidelined for a huge international fixture, nor would our cricket team drop Joe Root.
There are very few world class players across all sports that you need to play regardless of what form they are in.
They can produce a moment of magic to turn a game in your favour. And Marcus Smith is one of those.
Even while out of position for the past two Six Nations matches, at full-back instead of fly-half, he has helped the team to two victories.
The way Smith carries the ball with pace, dances around tackles and creatively offloads gets fans on their feet like nobody else in the squad.
After Finn Russell’s kicking nightmare against England, Smith was knocking on the door of a Lions starting spot.
Now Borthwick may have just ended all hope of the 26-year-old playing for Andy Farrell’s team – and given Italy huge motivation for Sunday.
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