Steve Borthwick explains why he’s left Marcus Smith out of his Six Nations training camp

England manager Steve Borthwick challenged Marcus Smith to ‘manage’ for Harlequins this weekend after the number 10 was sent back to his club.

Smith has been reduced to a bench role in the last two England Tests and was omitted from this week’s training camp to get more playing time.

Sale’s fly half George Ford has been called up in his place, casting doubt on Smith’s hopes of facing France in the Six Nations next week.

“Marcus has had limited playing time the last two or three weeks,” Borthwick said. “The clear idea and the feeling that I have for him is the clarity of the game, putting on a 10 shirt, directing a game, directing the team and meeting us again on Sunday afternoon.”

Smith has slipped behind captain Owen Farrell in the England number 10 shirt pecking order. He was given just 14 seconds off the bench in the win over Wales as Borthwick stuck to a conservative game plan.

His Quins team-mate Danny Care said on Tuesday night: “Should I get more playing time for England? Yeah, more than 14 seconds I think!

‘It’s hard for Marcus right now. Steve chose Owen Farrell as his captain, so it will be very difficult for him to take Owen out.

“I think everyone would have liked to see a little more of Marcus in that second half. The game kind of stagnated and I felt like it needed a bit of a boost. There’s probably no better person than Marcus to do that, but unfortunately he didn’t get a great chance.

“I have no doubt that boy will play a very, very important role in England’s success for years to come. He’ll probably have to wait a bit, but when the opportunity comes, he’ll show his class.”

With winger Max Malins injured, veteran Jonny May has been included in Borthwick’s 26-man training squad.