Münchener Post - England boss Borthwick wants 'brilliant' Marcus Smith to shine against Fiji

Smith is one of seven changes to the starting XV that launched England's Autumn Nations Series campaign with a 25-7 win at home to Australia last weekend.

Fin Smith starts at fly-half in place of George Ford, with Ollie Lawrence returning at outside centre after recovering from Achilles tendon surgery.

Ellis Genge captains England with regular skipper Maro Itoje confined to a bench role following what England described as "a lower limb injury".

Meanwhile Marcus Smith, who failed to make the matchday 23 against Australia, is recalled at full-back. Smith, primarily a fly half, replaces Freddie Steward who has a hand injury

England failed to turn much of their pressure against the Wallabies into points, a problem Borthwick hopes will be rectified by 26-year-old Harlequins playmaker Marcus Smith's kicking and running game.

"I'm really hopeful there that we'll see Marcus in space in unstructured opportunities," said England coach Borthwick after naming his team to play Fiji on Thursday.

"Everybody in the stadium is going to be excited when that ball comes into his hands in a bit of space."

The former England captain added: "He's a brilliant player. You see him out there at the end of training, he's always working to add to his game. He's hungry and he's exciting. That's what I want to see from him on Saturday.

"Last weekend we had opportunities, but unfortunately we didn't convert them. We've been working on that this week to make sure we support on line break situations, finish and get the points on the board."

A.Weber--MP