England make major shake-up for Italy clash as Smith and Slade are axed

March 5, 2025

England have dropped Marcus Smith to the bench and brought in Fraser Dingwall to the centres in place of the axed Henry Slade in a major shake-up of the backs for Sunday’s must-win Six Nations match at home to Italy.

With the Championship title still on the line, if leaders Ireland slip up during the final two rounds, Smith and Slade have paid the price for England’s misfiring attack in the last match against Scotland 11 days ago.

Slade has been said not to have trained fully in recent days but the word accompanying this afternoon’s team announcement was everyone in the squad was available for selection.

So England have broken up the much-criticised centre pairing of Ollie Lawrence and Slade that had been used for the last 13 Tests.

There are now five backs from Premiership champions Northampton Saints in the backline, with Dingwall joining Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman and Ollie Sleightholme.

Jamie George, who will win his 100th Test cap with a start at hooker in place of Luke Cowan-Dickie, told the BBC his teammates had admitted a problem with appreciating when to attack in the 16-15 win over the Scots.

George said head coach Steve Borthwick has been showing the players clips of where they could have run instead of kicking.

Marcus Smith had started the last 10 England matches in a row since June 2024 – eight at fly-half then the most recent two at full-back where he has looked uncomfortable in defence and with clearing kicks.

Playing the 26-year-old from Harlequins in the No 15 jersey in the recent one-point wins over France and Scotland already amounted to half a dropping by Borthwick, as Smith does not play there for his club, and he understandably looked uncomfortable in aspects such as running kicks back, and making clearing kicks under unfamiliar pressure in the backfield.

Even so, England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield last week commented that Borthwick would persevere with the experiment – but significantly Sinfield also proposed the idea of Smith as “a third playmaker”.

The 14st 7lbs Dingwall is by no means the biggest No 12 in world rugby but he is seen as a playmaking type.

In this Six Nations, Italy have beaten Wales and lost in Scotland, and last time out, they were thumped 73-24 by France in Rome.

The Marcus Smith switch will come under great scrutiny, and in some ways it mirrors the problem or blessing faced by New Zealand when they have Beauden Barrett, Damien McKenzie and Richie Mo’unga are all available.

Smith on the bench to cover fly-half and full-back can make sense, as does sending him on against fading opposition in the second half.

Elliot Daly has the nod at full-back, as among the front-line alternatives, Freddie Steward’s aerial ability is accepted but there is a doubt over his speed around the backfield, while the likelier pick George Furbank is still out injured.

Even the staunchest fans of Marcus Smith would admit there has been a disconnect sometimes between him and his midfield and outside backs in England colours, plus the form of Fin Smith in the past 18 months or so has been persuasive.

It could be seen as akin, too, to the England football scenario of the recent past, and who to choose out of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jack Grealish – with the undroppable role of Harry Kane maybe played here by Alex Mitchell at scrum-half – but not any longer, it seems, the long-serving Slade.