Marcus Smith’s days as England’s first semi-finalist seem to have come to an end after the team’s defeat and the return of George Ford.

Midfielder Marcus Smith has been suspended from England training in Brighton ahead of the Six Nations’ season-defining games against France and Ireland and has instead been ordered to play for his club Harlequins on Saturday.

England manager Steve Borthwick promised Smith would return to the squad on Sunday night, but this week Owen Farrell and George Ford sit 10th in a group of 26 players.

Smith is the only man who can train but didn’t survive Saturday’s 20-10 win over Wales.

There is a strong sense that Smith is slipping from the English pecking order after the 24-year-old was sent off as a substitute in Cardiff with just 14 seconds left.

Ford, who recently returned from a seven-month absence with an Achilles tendon injury, is a prime candidate to restart his England career with 84 caps and will not play for his club Sale this weekend.

Meanwhile, Smith was sacked due to Queens’ Premier League game against Exeter, which was scheduled to take place at Twickenham, with England playing France a week later.

“It was my decision, which I then discussed with Marcus,” Borthwick said.

“I think letting him go, getting playing time and getting match clarity is the right thing to do.”

A blow to Smith’s pride – and his prospects

Borthwick included in his schedule an unscheduled press conference on Tuesday, which was mainly devoted to explaining the arguments in favor of midfield positions.

The scrutiny of this selection is partly due to the state of the six nations: England will likely beat France and Ireland in the remaining games to win the title and the upcoming World Cup in September. And partly because of the profile of Smith, a young midfielder who, however irrational or unrealistic, has become a totem for the more diverse and interesting England side.

By removing Smith from the practice squad this week, Borthwick certainly reserved Ford for a recall against the French on Saturday. However, Borthwick’s long-term preference remains unclear as Leicester center Dan Kelly was injured ahead of the Six Nations game and Ollie Lawrence started in the final two games after being left out of the original squad.

Ford was with Borthwick last season at Leicester when they won the Premier League together as striker and head coach.

The 29-year-old only played 160 minutes of rugby during his recent return from injury, but many observers believe it’s Ford, not Smith. and the quality of his shots, for starters.

Smith started England’s home defeat to Scotland and then came off the bench against Italy, but last Saturday in Wales he came on as a substitute for Owen Farrell, the starter and captain, with 14 seconds left.

Amidst a flurry of reshuffles, Borthwick could stay in midfield for Farrell, Lawrence and Henry Slade, or reconnect the 2019 World Cup by reuniting Ford and No. 10 and Farrell in good shape,” Borthwick said of Ford.

There is a wonderful degree of poignancy and irony in all of this, given that England is training for three days at Brighton College, Smith’s old school, and as you can imagine, his comeback is a full international fly-half with 20 tests in a row since his debut in the summer of 2021 would be an enjoyable experience.

“Sometimes [a player’s] Change of roles in the team,” said Borthwick on Tuesday. “I would like to use [wing] Anthony Watson, for example. He came off the bench in the first round, he didn’t play in the second round and came back to the starting lineup in the third round and played so well. Markus returns to the selection on Sunday. He understands it.”

However, there is a caveat to this as Sunday’s squad will be 36 total players at the start of Testing week. Smith’s role will be a serious test when he is cut again two days later.

Smith turned 24 two weeks ago and could certainly come back, but he has to put pressure on both his pride and his immediate prospects.

France is taking a different approach to the upcoming Six Nations Week as 17 key players from Sunday’s victory over Scotland are absent from training. While their replacement midfielder Mathieu has been echoing Jalibert Smith since his move to his club Bordeaux, he has never seen an experienced opponent like Ford in his place.

In addition, England winger Max Malins is unable to train with an ankle injury and is instead recovering with the team, while the suspended Manu Tuilagi is also in Brighton – you can imagine him playing the roles of French centers Yoram Moefan and Gael Fick in training. .

And as if more intrigue was needed, Nick Evans, the England attacking manager who was on loan from the Harlequins for the Six Nations, was at their club with Smith on Tuesday before returning to England on Wednesday.