Marcus Smith: Fly-half rejoins England squad ahead of Six Nations showdown with Ireland at Twickenham

England have received a huge boost ahead of their Six Nations clash with Ireland after Marcus Smith rejoined the squad.

The fly-half has missed their previous three matches in the tournament due to a calf issue.

In his absence, England have had an underwhelming run of results, with narrow victories over Italy and Wales followed by a 30-21 defeat to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup.

However, head coach Steve Borthwick had previously said that he was "very hopeful" the 25-year-old would be available for selection to face the Irish.

With a two-week break between fixtures, it has given Smith a chance to edge closer to fitness.

And he has now recovered sufficiently to join up with the 36-man training squad ahead of the game at Twickenham.

Harlequins fly-half Smith has won 30 caps for his country since making his debut against the United States in July 2021, scoring 185 points in the process.

He picked up the calf injury in the pre-tournament training camp in Girona.

His return to fitness means Max Ojomoh drops out of the current squad, as does Harry Randall, who makes way for Alex Mitchell, who also missed the Calcutta Cup.

The 26-year-old scrum-half sustained a grade-two strain to the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

But he could feature against Ireland, with Borthwick stating: "He’ll come in on Wednesday and continue his rehab. We’ll have a good look of where he is.”

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is also back in the England training squad, having dropped out of the camp last week to take an exam at Exeter University, where he is studying for a medical degree.

England sit third in the table with eight points, while Ireland are top thanks to a 100% record of three wins from three matches, leaving them on course for a second successive Grand Slam.

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