Steve Borthwick furious as England backline leaked to with Manu Tuilagi DROPPED

The Telegraph has revealed that Manu Tuilagi will be dropped for England’s Six Nations opener against Scotland at Twickenham this weekend.

Steve Borthwick has opted to drop the powerhouse despite his midfield stocks being depleted following the withdrawal of Dan Kelly, Elliot Daly and Henry Slade.

England have been careful not to rule out selecting Smith and Farrell together in the last couple of weeks.

“There’s no reason why they can’t play together,” attack coach Nick Evans said.

“But you have to be very clear about what you are trying to achieve, how you are doing this, what the detail looks like. Once everyone is clear on that then you can go through with it.

“Some of the feedback was that maybe that [clarity] wasn’t there, so maybe there was a bit of a crossover. It’s just about making sure that you’re very clear on roles and responsibilities.

“Sometimes the old death by detail can be a thing. The over-complicating of things. As coaches, we don’t get much time with the players.

“We’ve got a week with them and then we’re playing Scotland in the first game, so the information needs to be really clear and direct. The players need to go onto the field and have a really clear understanding of how we want to play.”

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