England head coach Steve Borthwick has justified his decision to drop Marcus Smith as a way of 'unleashing' him in off the bench against Italy.

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Marcus Smith took his demotion on the chin according to boss Steve Borthwick – who then handed the Harlequin a licence to thrill against Italy on Sunday, if he gets on. The benched 26-year-old has paid the price for defensive lapses in England’s 16-15 win over Scotland and his side’s inability to get him involved in attack.

He believes that the player has "impact" and can be unleashed from the bench when there is fatigue on the pitch. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has named his 23-man England squad to take on Italy in the fourth round of the Six Nations Championship.

Scotland, meanwhile, will take on struggling Wales before England look to maintain their perfect record against Italy on Sunday. Steve Borthwick 's side have been boosted by the return of four injured players with Ben Earl,

England coach Steve Borthwick insists Marcus Smith can remain a "game-changer" despite dropping him to the bench for Sunday's Six Nations clash against Italy at Twickenham.

By Martyn Herman LONDON (Reuters) -England have dropped Marcus Smith for Sunday's Six Nations clash against Italy at Twickenham with Elliot Daly replacing him as coach Steve Borthwick makes three changes to the line-up that began the narrow victory over Scotland.