Marcus Smith has kept his place at full-back and goal-kicking duties for England’s crunch clash with Scotland on Saturday. The Harlequins star was moved to full-back for England’s win over France last time out, with Fin Smith handed the No10 shirt. England head coach Steve Borthwick has stuck with that again for this weekend’s Calcutta Cup showdown at Twickenham. Marcus Smith, however, will stay on goal-kicking duties - despite being taken off them during England’s victory over France.
Fin Smith stepped up to slot the winning conversion in that 26-25 victory after Marcus Smith had missed a conversion and penalty. “He’s a world-class goal-kicker; we all know that, so it’s very simple,” said Borthwick. Marcus Smith had a mixed game against France in the unfamiliar position of full-back, but Borthwick is backing him to shine. “Listen, Marcus is a game-changer; Marcus is a player with incredible ability,” he said.
“Sometimes, the opposition focuses very much on him. Sometimes, that creates space for others. Sometimes, there will be a window for him to find. “With Fin Smith and Marcus Smith, we have two ball players, two people who see space in the front-line and in the back-field, and that's going to be very important this weekend.”. Borthwick sprung a surprise by naming his team on Tuesday, two days earlier than he was expected to.
The head coach has made just one change to the side that beat France, with Ollie Chessum coming into the second row in place of George Martin. Martin started England’s first two games of this year’s Six Nations, but did not train fully last week due to a knee issue. He is fit enough for the bench, though, and Borthwick has again opted to name six forwards on two backs as his replacements. England are working to end a run of four successive defeats to Scotland, who are due to name their team on Thursday.
Gregor Townsend’s side are waiting to see if fly-half Finn Russell and wing Darcy Graham are fit. The pair collided during defeat to Ireland last time out and were forced off due to the nasty head collision. “I think you would expect us to be thorough and plan as if Finn Russell is available and playing, but also planning - as you always do - for the next players in those key positions,” said Borthwick.
