England boss Steve Borthwick has vowed to ignore the outside noise on the Marcus Smith-Owen Farrell selection debate.
Borthwick has shifted Farrell to fly-half to host Italy in the Six Nations on Sunday, with Smith dropping to the bench.
Smith and Farrell had started the last eight Test matches together at 10 and 12, but new head coach Borthwick has split up the combination to take on the Azzurri.
Sir Clive Woodward, Lawrence Dallaglio and Stuart Barnes number among the high-profile former England stars to insist that the Smith-Farrell partnership does not work in the Test arena.
But Borthwick insisted he will listen to his coaching lieutenants Kevin Sinfield and Nick Evans – both highly-influential playmakers at Test level in rugby league and union.
“I listen to people that are really close to me,” said Borthwick. “In terms of Kevin Sinfield and Nick Evans I’ve got two people who know a fair bit about how to play in playmaking positions and understand the game.
“In the autumn I’ve watched the players closely and in the last couple of weeks I’ve had the opportunity to watch them very closely.
“The other thing I’ve also got to be conscious of is I’m playing a gameplan for a specific opposition and I'm working with the players I’ve got available to me.
“This week is different from last week. I’ve got Henry Slade available, it gives you a different option. I listen to the people who give me clear insight.”
Borthwick maintains those omitted from this weekend’s Italy clash have not been summarily dismissed, with the new boss determined to give players chances to force their way back in across the rest of the tournament.
At the same time, the former England lock knows all about the reality of seeing a Test career ended in a flash. Borthwick was on his honeymoon in Bali in 2010 when Martin Johnson called to tell him he was no longer England captain.
Asked if he can handle difficult conversations with players, Borthwick replied: “You’re talking to the man who got dropped from the England captaincy when he was on honeymoon.
“I’m walking down the beach in Bali with my wife and I get a phone call from Martin Johnson saying, ‘hey Steve, you’re no longer England captain, and actually you’re no longer in the England squad’.
“It hurts but what you have got to do is keep working to be better.”
