Steve Borthwick can’t wait to unleash England’s new-look midfield on Italy  

Steve Borthwick is convinced that England’s revamped midfield will pose a deadly threat to Italy at Twickenham on Saturday after confirming Owen Farrell’s return to the No 10 shirt.

The new head coach of the national team followed up his ruthless decisions to omit Manu Tuilagi from the Six Nations opener against Scotland and release Ben Youngs back to Leicester by dropping Harlequins playmaker-prodigy Marcus Smith to the bench for the clash with the Azzurri. 

Borthwick installed Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade in the centre places, then declared that they can form a potent alliance with captain Farrell.

‘What we have with the combination of Owen, Ollie and Henry is right and left-footed kickers, it has carrying ability and it has distribution,’ he said. ‘I think there’s a great blend of strengths there.

‘Owen’s ability to dictate the game and where and how it should be played is very, very good. We can all see that from watching him play over so many years. 

Owen Farrell will wear England’s number 10 following Borthwick’s call to drop Marcus Smith 

He’s a very good defender in that channel and in the last couple of years at Saracens, his ball-movement has really developed.’ 

Borthwick included Henry Arundell on the bench after the rookie London Irish sensation’s recent recovery from injury and he enthused about the chance to unleash him against the Italians.

Adding: ‘In the first training session when I watched Henry Arundell, I thought, “This guy has got exceptional talent”. It’s early days in his career, but he’s got exceptional talent.’

Henry Arundell will take his place on the bench after recovering from injury to play a part