sport news Youngs, Curry and Watson dropped for Italy clash as England coach Borthwick ... trends now
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Ben Youngs and Ben Curry have been released from the England squad preparing to face Italy at Twickenham on Sunday – as an early sign of Steve Borthwick’s ruthless streak as a selector.
The head coach of the national team has sent seven players back to their clubs and the departure from the Red Rose camp of Youngs and Curry proves that Borthwick will not be afraid to make tough calls or ignore stellar reputations.
He had already shown that by overlooking Manu Tuilagi for the Six Nations opener against Scotland and now he has done so again.
Test centurion Youngs is the country’s most-capped player, but that hasn’t saved the veteran scrum-half – who was part of Borthwick’s Premiership title-winning Leicester squad last season.
The 33-year-old came on as a replacement against the Scots but appears to have paid a heavy price for his loose kicking as England were chasing the game last Saturday. Alex Mitchell is now poised to win a second cap as under-study to Jack van Poortvliet – as reward for his superb form for Northampton.
England flanker Ben Curry has been dropped for Italy clash after starting against Scotland
Of course, at this stage in his career, there will be doubts about whether Youngs can recover and come again as an England player.
However, in recent years he has found peaks of performance when his credentials have been questioned, so it may be premature to write Youngs off if he is able to summon another defiant riposte.
For Ben Curry, it is a steep
