by Marcus Smith has been ruled out of England’s Six Nations final against Italy on Saturday due to a calf injury with Steve Borthwick in the dark over whether the Harlequins side will miss out on the championship altogether. Fin Smith is in line for a Test debut as a result and has been declared “ready to start” if Borthwick chooses the No. 10 to give the 21-year-old in Rome.
England’s problems are mounting ahead of the start of their campaign with Alex Mitchell also giving the head coach a big scare. The Northampton striker was unable to train all week due to an infected wound in his leg, further hampering Borthwick’s preparations.
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Marcus Smith picked up his calf injury at England’s training camp in Girona on Monday and was later seen on bags at the bottom of the team. An initial scan ruled him out of contention for the opening round of the Six Nations with Borthwick awaiting a second opinion on how long he will be out.
It is a bitter blow for the Harlequins six-half and for Borthwick who, following Owen Farrell’s decision not to make himself available, is believed to be strongly considering starting Marcus Smith in Rome. Without him, it’s a shootout between George Ford and Fin Smith to start on Saturday.
“[Marcus] Sad this weekend,” assistant coach Kevin Sinfield said. “We have scanned the report but we are waiting to understand exactly what that means for us going forward. He is not fit for this weekend. We are awaiting a second opinion on the scan. We will know more then.
“[Marcus is] a great loss but what that does is provide opportunities for others. Fin Smith has been in the camp before – his form has been outstanding for Northampton and he has also trained brilliantly. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out where that leaves us. We’ve got Fin and George, who’s got 91 caps I think, so he’s got that experience and a young gun who’s been at the top of his game. We are still in a very good position.”
Meanwhile, Mitchell is understood to have dislocated his leg before joining the squad in Girona. England hope the Northampton player will still be declared fit for the game against Italy but question marks remain after he was forced to sit out training sessions on Monday and Tuesday. Danny Care and Ben Spencer are the other halves available for Borthwick. The head coach has already lost Ollie Lawrence and Luke Cowan-Dickie since naming his squad and George Martin, Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson, Jack van Poortvliet and Tom Curry are also out with injury.
At fly-half, Ford has experienced a marked change from that which emerged at the World Cup but has suffered injury problems of his own recently and received two knee injections this month.
Meanwhile, Fin Smith is England’s other half, having scored a stunning Northampton Champions Cup win in Munster before joining the squad. He’s only 21 but he’s already in the first place, whether from the start or off the bench, and he’s earned rave reviews from the England coaches.
England haven’t given a midfielder a start in the Five or Six Nations since 1987 but Sinfield said: “He’s ready to go. Whether it will be you will have to wait and see but he has been excellent in training.
“Sometimes when you get young lads in the camp the one thing they don’t give the voice, because of the quality of the players around them and the aura that some players have about them. Every good half must be able to communicate well and it is very good communication. His form was outstanding for Northampton.
“Fin has a real maturity about him and about game management, which you would expect from someone later in his career. He will be an excellent test player.”
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Sinfield was speaking publicly for the first time since it was announced that he would be leaving England after the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand and, with Felix Jones appointed as defense coach, would be employed as skills and kicking coach until it goes away. The 43-year-old said his decision was made for “personal reasons” and that he is not sure what will happen in the future but hoped to stay in coaching.
“Do I still want to coach? Yes. What that looks like, I’m not sure at this point,” he said. “I’m excited about what’s to come this year with England, and then there’s a lot of unknowns for me and I don’t know what the future holds. I will make the best of it.
“I’ve really enjoyed coaching and I never feel like I’ve really left rugby league because of my role with Rugby League Cares, the charity arm of the sport. What I do know is that I want to continue to support and help people.
“When what happened with Rob happened [Burrow] it turned out to be a big change in my life, and it felt right to use my experience as a player to help me support players and others. I try to use that to the best of my ability as I go forward. I won’t rule anything out at this stage.
“You probably underestimate the amount of work you do. People see it like in camp or during league and you’re in the thick of it and then you’re out of it and people think you’re not doing anything. Rugby is obviously still going on and there’s a lot of watching, studying, visiting clubs, visiting players, a lot of planning, but it’s the best job I’ve ever had apart from playing .”
